I Will Follow You Into the Dark
by Aireabella
Summary: This story follows Daryl and Beth after the fall of the prison that occurred during the season 4 mid season finale. I am a little worried for Beth in the second part of the season since she left with Daryl but I have heard that Daryl has at least one episode devoted solely to him. I hope Beth doesn't die in the series. Anyway, we will see how this work of fiction progresses.
1. Chapter 1

Beth continued to sing the song softly to herself as she gathered up the sticks and twigs to help supplement the wood Daryl had gathered for their fire. Even though he had told her to stay put in the hunting cabin they had stumbled on several weeks before, she couldn't allow him to bear the entire burden of their existence. This was the least she could do while he hunted to keep them fed, and she hadn't wandered too far from the little log structure, had she? Her wandering thoughts and preoccupation had distracted her from her song, so she quietly picked it up again.

"If I die young, bury me in satin..."

She had a feeling that very soon, the words of the song would become the story of her life, but she found solace in the comfort the positive tone of the ballad encompassed. Beth paused her song when she heard footsteps behind her. Not having been accompanied by the stench of decay, she knew that Daryl had found her and not a walker. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before she turned to face him and explain; she had hoped to return to the cabin before him to avoid such a conversation.

"I know you told me to stay put..." Her thought trailed off as she turned and found not an angry Daryl but three gaunt strangers with danger reflecting in their eyes.

They all had guns in hand, but they did not brandish them aggressively as Beth posed less than a threat. Beth felt her stomach drop as the largest of the men took a few steps toward her and smiled charmingly. She dropped her armful of kindling, forgotten, to the ground and took two tentative steps backwards.

"Hey there pretty girl...who would have thought that such a pretty voice would belong to someone with the face of an angel." He spoke as an educated man might, a man who in a different world would not be dangerous to her, but their world drove people to such horrendous acts of barbarism. His tone was, however, one than a hunter might use to calm a frightened animal before he went in for the kill.

Beth was frozen. She should run...or should she? She realized so many times she was not built for this world. While she was frozen, the stranger had made it within an arms length of her with the other two closing the distance.

"A pretty thing like you shouldn't be out here all alone. You need someone to protect you." He reached out to touch her hair, and she jerked away sharply, reaching for the knife at her waist.

"I'm not alone. Daryl is hunting," Beth asserted with the most confident voice she could muster, her hand closing on the hilt of her knife.

"Awww sweetheart, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the stranger suggested, his smile broadening.

Beth considered her options, but not quickly enough. She found herself flat on the ground, the air gone from her lungs, unable to speak or scream or even cry. She thrashed about and made contact with her attacker's face a few times before he had her weighted down and ordered one of his companions to pin her arms above her head. The final of the three moved behind the man on top of her to get a good view of the action, smile spread from ear to ear.

_This isn't happening...This isn't happening...THIS ISN'T HAPPENING_ she screamed inside her head as she willed her breath to return.

"There now sweetheart...calm down...shhh...that's not so bad, is it?" her attacker whispered, his face just a few short inches from hers. He reached out and tucked a stray blonde lock behind her ear.

Just then, Beth's lungs finally began to work again, short, ragged gasps replaced by the deep intake of autumn air. She released the loudest screech she could manage, no doubt setting off a thunderous throb in the ears of the man on top of her. She was repaid with a backhand across the face that resulted in falling stars in her vision and left the strong taste of iron and warmth of blood in her mouth. She could only pray that Daryl was close enough to have heard her because any chance for her to get out of this situation alive without Daryl's intervention had quickly disappeared.

"Is that how you wanna play this you stupid little bitch?!" he screamed at her. Beth couldn't tell if he was angry or inflamed by her outcry, but something burned bright in his eyes.

"Daryl! Daryl...Daryl Help Me!" Beth hoped hard that if she continued screaming, Daryl would be able to locate her. She cringed and attempted to thrash as she felt rough, angry hands fumbling with the button at the low slung waist of her jeans. "Daryl...Daryl!"

"Go on, scream for your little high school sweetheart," the man pinning arms above her head laughed out. "We'll make zombie chow outta him when he gets here and write a tragic end to your little teenage fairytale."

"DARYL!"

* * *

Daryl smiled as he tucked his fifth squirrel through his belt. They might be dumb with a brain no bigger than a walnut, but they were smart enough to stay out of the mouths of walkers...just not quick enough to dodge his bolts. And at least Beth liked squirrel fried up all nice and juicy...or if she didn't, she didn't complain none about it. He couldn't say that about many girls like her he had ever met...not that he had met many girls like her in his lifetime...and then women in general didn't like squirrel, why he didn't know, probably because they were just so damn complicated...the women, not the squirrels.

_Five is enough for today. Best not take more that we need _Daryl thought to himself. The squirrels supplemented by the remaining dry goods they had found stashed in the cabin would keep them fed in meat until the day after next. As he bent to reload his crossbow, a squirrel jumped into a low branch just above his head and started chattering angrily at him. Looking up, Daryl quickly spotted the fat red.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...I hear yah. Keep on screaming, your day's comin'!" Daryl answered the complaining creature.

A scream...one not from an animal...rang out through the woods and set everything to silence.

"Beth..." Daryl said to himself as his heart his the ground. Without a second thought, he set off through the woods in the direction of the scream at a full run. He reached the edge of the tree line at a tiny clearing where he saw Beth and her situation before she called out for him again in terror. He thanked whatever power was out there listening that Beth was surrounded by the living and not overtaken by the walking dead. He wasn't too late.

"Daryl! Daryl...Daryl Help Me!"

_Three men...one armed...two with guns on the ground._

"Daryl...Daryl!"

"Go on, scream for your little high school sweetheart. We'll make zombie chow outta him when he gets here and write a tragic end to your little teenage fairytale."

"DARYL!"

_Two focused on Beth, the lookout not even watching...Dumbass... They're all ready to die._

There was nothing left for Daryl to do but what he did best.


	2. Chapter 2

Beth had been given a strict Christian upbringing, but the world had changed. She couldn't remember seeing anything more beautiful than the crossbow bolt sprouting out of the watcher's neck. He subsequently dropped to the ground futilely grasping at the instrument of his impending death. In the next instant, Daryl appeared, yanking the scalp of her attacker, barring his neck and fluidly opening his throat, leaving a red smile from ear to ear. Daryl was like an artist in his prime. No...more like an avenging angel set from God who put not only precision but passion into his work. The blood sprayed her face and chest as Daryl threw the convulsing body off of her, but she didn't flinch from it. She had been granted life. Daryl reached down and pulled her roughly to her feet.

"Get behind me and stay there!" He spat out, taking his free arm and pushing her directly behind him. His other hand retained its deadly grasp on his bloody hunting knife.

The man who had brutally pinned her arms to the ground stood with his hands spread wide, palms up in a placating manner. His gun laid on the ground a few feet from him, but he appeared as frozen as Beth had been when her assailants first came upon her.

"Dude...Whoa...wait..." the last attacker standing managed as Daryl lethally changed grips on his knife. "We can work something out. We didn't know that she belonged to anyone...not anyone like you..." he attempted to plead his case.

* * *

...didn't know that she belonged to anyone...not anyone like you..."

The words and their meaning made him snap. He had never shied away from violence when it was called for, but he had never seen red...until now. Before he realized what had happened, Daryl found himself plunging his knife into the ruin of his victims chest again and again and again. The purpose of the stabbing had long ago faded as life had left the body beneath him, but it still sated his need to defeat the human evils that ran rampant in their fucked up world. When he finally came to his senses, he remained perched over the mush that had been a man, and in one final act of retribution, he sent his knife crunching through the skill. It was necessary, but it sure in the hell did feel good too. When he went to wipe the blood from his face with the back of his hand, it was no good. He was covered from the waist up, but he was able to wipe his blade on the side of his thigh where his jeans were still clean.

Standing and looking back, he saw that Beth was exactly where he had told her to stay.

_A little late for that..._

His first instinct was to put her in her place for not listening to him when he told her to stay in the cabin, but seeing her standing there covered in another man's blood returned him to protect mode.

"You okay?" He questioned softly, approaching her slowly, not knowing if she was as calm as she appeared.

She nodded her head in an affirmative.

"Any of the blood yours?"

"I...no...all theirs I think." Beth's voice was quavering. He knew that once the adrenaline ran out, she would be a total mess.

"Looks like some's yours..." he had closed the distance and reached out to examine her split lip. Beth winced at his touch. This realization that she was feeling pain landed her back into reality. She reached up and found her cheek swollen as well.

"You good a minute?...then we'll get you back and clean you up." Daryl didn't wait for an answer but went to work making sure everyone who was dead would stay dead before Beth turned into an emotional wreck. He grabbed up the guns and precious ammo the dead had carried. God knows they needed the fire power after having lost everything except what they carried when the prison fell.

* * *

_Did he save me...I'm okay, right?_ Beth hoped this was real, that she had been sparred the horrible fate of the day. Sometimes everything seemed so unreal. If she could just wake up from this nightmare, everything would be okay...she would be at home with Maggie, and Mom and Shawn would be there too...and Daddy...

Beth reached up, touching her lip. The pain was real. She pulled her fingers away from her face seeing the crimson liquid that stained them. The blood was real.

_And Daddy's dead..._

Beth watched Daryl finish the dead men and collect the guns and extra magazines that could be their salvation...at least until they weren't. Daryl was so good at this, so strong...she wasn't. In some of the more "depressed" moments of her early teens, she had come to what she believed was a genius conclusion about life. Life was simply a slow march toward death. Lately, the pace of that march had picked up beyond comprehension. She just wanted it to stop...it had to slow down. How was Daryl so strong?

_Daddy is dead..._

Beth sank down to the ground.

* * *

Sure as sunrise, Beth had broken. When Daryl turned around, he found her sitting on the ground, arms tight around her knees, face buried in her thighs. She was literally a ball of emotion. Now feeling secure and heavily armed, Daryl could attempt to offer Beth what little comfort he could, putting aside any thought of scolding her for not listening, at least in her current state. He went to his knees in front of her, reaching out and gently touching her shoulder. She barely responded.

"You okay?"

No answer.

"You're gonna be okay...I promise."

Shit, did he just say that. He never made promises he couldn't knees.

_Looks like I'm just gonna have to keep this one._

"I promise Beth...I'll keep you safe until I die..."

Beth finally looked up and him, bloody and puffy from tears. She threw herself at him so hard that he was sent back on his heels by the force and forced to brace himself with a hand on the ground behind him. Once he had righted the both of them, he put an arm around her in comfort and with the other gently stroked her hair. He wasn't used to being close to others, but he realized they needed one another, and giving comfort was part of that equation. And he never realized someone so small could hold someone so hard.

"Please don't die..." Beth managed just above a whisper, face buried in his chest.

"I promise, I'll stay alive as long as I can." He had realized a long time ago that a man was only as good as his word, and he intended to be a good man.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Daryl got back to the cabin, he felt like the poster boy for some freakin' romance novel, loaded down with three dead men's semi-autos, all their extra mags, his crossbow slung across his back, and tiny Beth limp like a rag doll in his arms. In what fucked up world was he the hero? When he set Beth in front of the crude fireplace, she drew up her knees and buried her head again, sobbing silently. He went to work warming the water over the fire then approached Beth with the water and a clean rag.

"Here now Beth, we need to get you cleaned up...see how bad off you are and get your hurts fixed up."

Beth looked up to where he was kneeling in front of her and made no move to protest as she had been like to do. He started with her hands, wiping each finger and her palms softly to acclimate her to the process. Daryl knew she had to be in some sort of a state of shock, and after being attacked and handled so roughly by three men, the last thing he wanted was to make her feel like he was violating her too. Beth's sister Maggie had suffered a similar assault at the hands of the Governor, and she hadn't gotten past it easily... and Maggie was the stronger of the two sisters. When he made it to her face, he left her busted lip and swollen cheek till last. He winced when she winced, having suffered similar hurts over the years. But he was a man, and that was expected. No woman should ever suffer such a wound.

"Thank you..." Beth managed, touching her hand to his against her face. Fine, delicate, gentle Beth.

"Um hmm...don't think nothin' of it." Daryl released her face and she his hand. What else was there to say in this fucked up situation? "I'm gonna go outside and get myself cleaned up." He knew he must be a bloody nightmare. "Go and get yourself a flannel from the stash in the closet. Throw your bloody shirt in the fire. I don't think you can save it."

Outside the cabin, Daryl took a bucket of cool water from the rain barrel. He splashed water on his face and through his hair, looking down and realizing his shirt was a lost cause too. Removing it, he was able to wash off the blood that had soaked through to his chest and arms. He took a deep breath, taking a moment to gather his thoughts and give Beth some privacy to change. This was rough...this must be what it felt like to have someone need you on the most essential level. Merle had never needed him, and sure, he had been an integral part of their small group and later the ill-fated community at the prison, but this was so much different...so much more immediate. Beth needed him to survive.

_ I need her too._

When did he realize that? Or had he known it all along? He could make it on his own, had his entire life. He would've been safer on his own, but when the prison fell, his basic instinct to survive had been overridden by his need to protect, save, and perhaps ensure that he wouldn't be alone. A slight breeze chilled his wet skin and dropped Daryl face first back into the gravity of their situation. It was fall, and the cold weather was a nice respite from Georgia summers. But it was getting too cold, too fast. The fire in the cabin should at this point be a necessity for cooking, not for warmth from the chill of night. Early fall often signaled a harsh winter for their region. Harsh winter in a normal world meant inconvenience...in their world, it could mean death. He needed a game plan and quick. Daryl grabbed his ruined shirt and went back inside with purpose.

* * *

When Daryl came back into the cabin, he was clean and shirtless. He came close to the fire near where she sat on the floor, tossing his ruined shirt in to burn.

"You okay?" he asked.

Beth nodded and felt a blush rise on her cheeks at the sight of him shirtless, why she didn't know. Perhaps it was from her tragic inexperience with boys, much less men...and she ha never seen Daryl topless either. He crossed quickly to the makeshift closet where the former occupant kept his formidable collection of flannel shirts. This was when she noticed the myriad of scars across his back. She didn't know much about Daryl's past or life before the apocalypse; he had never been very forthcoming about it, but how cruel was it that life had never been beautiful for him. Perhaps that was why he was so strong, how he adjusted so easily when things went from bad to worse to a living nightmare. His life had always been cruel.

Daryl buttoned his new flannel with deft fingers as he came back towards the fire. He seated himself on the tattered remnants of the couch, leaning down, his elbows on his knees. She turned fully around to face him, the fire flickering hot against her back.

"My Daddy's dead." She didn't know if it was a question, statement, or an answer. Perhaps she just needed to vocalize it to begin letting go. Their world afforded very little time to mourn.

* * *

"Sorry Beth..." They had all lost so many that words were less than useless, but what else did he have to offer.

"And Maggie and Glenn and Rick and Carl. We lost all of them too..." Beth continued, her voice seemed a little less unsteady.

"Just 'cause somethin's lost doesn't mean you won't find it again," he reassured Beth and himself in the same turn. If they were alive, they could possibly come together again. And the lot she had just mentioned, if anyone could cheat death, it was those som'bithches, even the Asian who had grown a pair and turned Last Samurai on their asses.

"How will we ever find them?" Beth's voice had finally reached a tone of acceptance.

"Beth, the truth is, our top priority has to be each other and keeping alive until I figure things out. We can't be focusing all our energy on finding them until things get better for us," he asserted. He was the adult after all.

"I didn't save...I couldn't find...Judith...we just left her behind...and she...she needed me."

_Lil' Asskicker_. How many more people did he have to lose. The next one sure in the hell wasn't gonna be Beth. He went to his knees on the floor in front of her and took her hands firmly in his.

"Listen up. There ain't nothin we can do about that now. We did the only thing we could." Daryl's words were reassuring, stern and certain, even if he didn't feel those things. "And the truth is, that baby wasn't yours and you had no responsibility to her, but you probably felt like she was yours and she didn't have no other mother but you. It feels like your heart's been hacked out of your chest...I know, I've been there...but we gotta keep moving forward."

Beth looked down, away from his intense gaze. Daryl let one of her hands go and gently raised her chin again.

"Your gonna make a good mom one day." That was one thing he knew for a fact.

A small, sad smile spread across her lips.

"Daryl, our world is over. I'll never make it there..."

"Listen Blondie...this isn't how the world ends. Life goes on, and we're not going out without one hell of a fight. I think we've proved we still got some fight left in us. You do want to live, don't you Beth?" He didn't mean to be as fierce as he sounded, but someone had to rally the troops.

"I don't want to die...so what now?"

"What is it that you're always running around saying? 'We've all got jobs to do'? Well, here's the game plan. Your job is to stay alive. My job is to keep you alive, got it?"

Beth nodded.

"Good. No don't go makin' my job harder than it has to be by trying to get yourself killed."

She nodded again with no complaint or argument, but he wasn't entirely sure that she meant it.

"That means that you don't just listen to what I tell you, but you do what I tell you when I tell you, do you understand?" He was being harsh, but the gravity of their situation called for it.

"Yes, I understand."

Unexpectedly, Beth embraced him, and in a pure need for human contact, Daryl hugged back.

_Please don't make me lose anyone else...her..._


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl sat at the stone hearth poking at a stubborn log that refused to catch. Too cold...it was far too cold. Beth was resting on one of the pallets they had made near the fire huddled under a threadbare blanket. The cabin had served its purpose, but he had become too complacent. They had been here what, two weeks since the prison had come crashing down around them. Daryl ticked off the days in his head and realized they were closer to three weeks than two. He didn't have a problem staying in one place...hell, that was what they needed, but the reason he'd allowed them to stay was all wrong...the hope of reconnecting with the group. Against all good judgment, knowingly or not, they had sacrificed safety for sentiment. They were too close to the prison and the herd that had been attracted to it, no more than ten miles as a crow flies by his estimation. They were too close to major roads for his liking. And the cabin was far from secure...he couldn't fortify it if he tried. There was also a good chance that someone would be out looking for the scum he had killed. If they were lucky, they wouldn't start looking until the late morning or early afternoon.

He told Beth earlier that Maggie, Glenn, Rick, and Carl could still be alive, and that might well be true, but with the way things had gone to hell in a hand basket, everyone scattered at the prison, and the time that had passed, there was no tellin' if they would ever meet up again. It was just too far fetched. They had had some lucky breaks in the past, but most of those had ultimately ended in tragedy. He had to be realistic now for both Beth and himself. They needed a secure place to hole up for the winter. Stockpile some food. Get some guns and ammo. Stay away from others who would drag them down. And he needed to make some sort of life for Beth in this fucked up world. They both needed it, and he was the only one at this point who was likely to be able to give that to her.

Beth turned over to face the fire. Even though she hadn't made any noise, he could see her cheeks stained with tears.

"You too cold?"

Beth shook her head "no", but Daryl knew better. She was fragile at the best of times, down right breakable the rest, although she had resilience of spirit and the will to live in the most messed up situations. Maybe slitting her wrist back at the farm had toughened her resolve. He got up, grabbing his blanket, and laid it over her huddled body.

"What about you...you'll get cold, won't you?" Beth resisted even as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

"You need to get some rest. We're packing up and leavin' at first light," Daryl replied, resuming his perch on the hearth.

"It's my fault...that we have to leave here..." Beth offered something somewhere between a question and an admission.

"Naw Lil' Bit. In this world nothin's really anybody's fault. Shi...stuff happens." He poked the fire more as the stubborn log finally caught on.

"But we could have stayed here..." Beth continued.

"Beth, we could've never stayed here. We should've never stayed so long. I can't keep us safe here. We can't live a fantasy, and today was our wake up call.'' She was listening intently, hanging on his every word. "I'll find us somewhere safe to shelter for the winter. If we're not on the run, we can regain our strength, stock up on supplies, and see what Spring brings."

"And if we stay in one place, the others might be able to find us. Isn't that what they say? If you're lost, stay in one place until you're found?" There was a tragic tinge of hope in her young voice.

"Yeah, something like that."

The truth was, they weren't the ones who were lost And he didn't even know if the others would be looking for them. They could very well assume that Beth was dead because who would have guessed she would have escaped with him? If they thought he was alone, they knew he could take care of himself, and they would be looking out for themselves, Glenn for Maggie, Rick for Carl, and the others for the groups they had possibly escaped with. But he wasn't gonna say anything, not now at least. There was no harm in her hanging on to hope as long as one of them was being realistic.

"You better go on and get some sleep. Like I said, were leavin at first light." Daryl effectively and definitively closed the conversation.

"What about you? I have your blanket, and you need to sleep too."

She was right.

Daryl rose, grabbed the flat pillow from his pallet, and scooted the pallet on the floor close to where Beth lay. He measured his movements and words carefully, not wanting to spook Beth.

"We'll share. That okay with you?"

Beth nodded her head and lifted the blankets for him as he knelt on the floor next to her. When he slid under, stretched out on his back, he could feel her close by his side. He was uneasy and comfortable all in one, craving the human contact just as much as Beth needed it. And if she was the one who was getting close, there was nothing for him to feel uneasy about, was there?

"Here, come on," he offered, extending his arm for her to rest her head on. She came closer, laid down her head, and rested her hand tentatively on his chest. He held his breath for a moment, why he didn't know, then exhaled to release the tension the contact had created.

"Thank you..." she whispered to him.

"Ummm hmmm..." was all he could manage before he drifted off into oblivion.

He woke in the middle of the night, the fire crackling comfortingly to his back, pulling him into the world between sleep and consciousness. She was nestled close against his chest; he could feel her warm breath as she breathed rhythmically. He had wrapped his arms tightly around her while he had slept like she were some small doll. He was too tired to fight the need to be near someone, despite the fact that it illustrated weakness, but who was there to judge him. And besides, he was only protecting her...protection he was good at; he could take pride in that. As he drifted back into the sweet embrace of sleep, he couldn't help thinking that there were few better was to spend the apocalypse.

* * *

"Beth...Beth...wakeup..."

The soft voice gently drew her out of a mercifully dreamless sleep.

"Beth...Beth..."

She moved slowly, cuddling against the warmth, comforted by the arm around her as she began to come to her senses.

"Lil' Bit, we gotta get going soon. Sun's almost up."

Beth forced her eyes open as reality hit here again. She moved away from him a bit to look up and see Daryl looking down on her. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, and his hair was more mussed than usual. She wasn't used to seeing him this way; he was always awake and put together before he woke her...well, as put together as Daryl ever was. And she wasn't used to being this close to anyone when she woke, the tragedy of her inexperience again causing a blush to rise on her cheeks. At least it was too dark for Daryl to notice. She forced herself to look away as she wondered how long he had been awake trying not to disturb her.

"Sorry Daryl, I didn't mean to invade your space last night," Beth apologized to Daryl's chest.

"Nothing to be sorry for. I think we both needed someone warm to sleep by last night...I just didn't wanna scare you this morning by jumping up."

"Thank you." Beth wasn't really thanking him for one thing in general. It was basically a giant blanket thank you.

"Yup...the fire's still going. I'm gonna cook some breakfast right quick so we can eat before we get going."

Daryl gently disentangled himself from her and the blankets. If he was uncomfortable with their situation, he didn't show it. He tucked the blanket tight around her before he went to work.

Beth packed their provisions, matches, some spare shirts and socks, and their blankets while Daryl cooked their breakfast. At least they were leaving with something...more than what they had left with when their farm was overrun and just a few weeks ago when they were forced to abandon the prison, but it was still little enough. It all fit into a backpack she had found shoved in the closet. When it came time to leave, Daryl poured some fuel on the cabin floor and dropped a match when she was safely outside. He had informed her of his intentions at breakfast giving several reason when she didn't understand why. If anyone was looking for the men who died the day before, it would draw their attention, but by that time, they would be safely away. It would also eventually draw the attention of the walkers in their vicinity, giving them the opportunity to escape unnoticed. In addition, burning the cabin would eliminate shelter and extra supplies for anyone who may have been tracking them from the prison attack. When Daryl had finished his explanation, Beth added one reason quietly to herself, one that she hoped was in his head but he just hadn't wanted to say it. Maybe the burning cabin would leave a clue to their whereabouts for their friends and family who may be looking for them.

When she had first met Daryl, he had seemed like such a wildcard, rough and gruff with a prickly demeanor that made him entirely unapproachable. But then his wholehearted search for the little girl Sophia whom she had never known betrayed that he was actually a good person. And he had saved her more times than she could count. She owed him her life, so the least she could do was give him her trust. She followed willingly as he lead her away from the cabin as it caught fire in earnest. Fire was a cleansing force. The burning cabin was something that had to be let go, another part of her past that had to be erased so she could garner the strength to become the person she needed to be to survive. After about a half an hour into the woods, Beth stopped and dared to look back. The only evidence of the fire was the steady stream of smoke in the distance. She hadn't heard Daryl turn around or reach her side, but she felt his large, steady hand on the small of her back urging her to move on.

"Come on Lil' Bit. Ain't no good looking back," Daryl intoned as she turned to face him.

"How far are we going?" Beth dared to ask even though she feared the answer.

"As far as we need to to get where we are safe." His ambiguous answer did little to sate the question at hand. "Come on. We can't stay here. Just follow me; I won't lead you wrong."

As Daryl let go of her and headed further into the woods, she could just make out the wings on the back of his leather vest, half hidden under his crossbow. They were dingy now, no longer as white as they were when she had first met him, but they were still there. None of them got away without being tarnished by this life. Daryl didn't want to lead. Maybe that was why people were so willing to follow.

Beth was no different. She followed. _I will follow you into the dark._


	5. Chapter 5

~Author's Note: This Chapter is bit slow, but it is taking the characters in the direction I want them to go. Thanks for reading!~

* * *

They were on the third day of their trek, and Daryl was still keeping them at an aggressive pace. Beth was keeping up alright, but as it seemed they were going nowhere in particular, she didn't see why they were in such a rush. Daryl simply kept reiterating that they were heading away, so at least they were making good time by her estimation. The first night after the cabin, they sheltered under an outcropping of rock in the woods; it was little better than being out in the open. Even though Daryl had taken the first watch, not waking her until predawn so he could catch a few short hours of sleep before moving on, her sleep had been restless and plagued with horrible nightmares that she couldn't remember when she woke, but the fear stayed with her. The second night, they had come across a short dock over a river with a rustic structure at is end containing fishing oddments and such. It seemed like an odd choice of shelter, their fronts to the woods, their backs to the river, and she had said as much to Daryl.

"Can you swim?" He asked her as if his reasoning had been a plain as day.

She told him haughtily that of course she could swim.

"Ever seen a walker swim? I haven't, 'cause they can't," Daryl pointed.

As the sun began to hang low in the horizon of the third day, Beth could feel the tension floating in the air. She was dreading the thought of having to spend another night in the open. In addition, they had encountered no combative people or even seen any walkers since they left the cabin. Neither of them had mentioned this fact aloud clearly in fear of jinxing the situation, but it naturally seemed like the right time for their luck to run out and for things to go from livable to terrible.

"Hey Beth. You see that up there?"

Beth sped up a bit to reach his side; she had started to lag behind a little.

"See what?" She didn't see anything up ahead except trees and the seemingly invisible trail Daryl was following.

"Looks like a clearing up ahead, and I think I can see a chimney." Daryl stopped a moment, pointing straight ahead as if it was as clear as a sunny summer day.

Beth moved forward ahead of Daryl in hopes of seeing what he saw. "I still don't..."

"Watch out for that fence..." Daryl finished his warning just as she came into contact with the rusted barbed wire fence that clawed eagerly at her and caught the hem of her shirt.

Beth turned away trying to get free without ripping the flannel when she saw a mild expression of amusement creep across his face.

"Its not funny!" Beth exclaimed, but she smiled a little too. She could see the humor in her lack of wilderness skills, and if this were the worst thing to happen to her today, it would be a very good day.

"Careful princess, we don't have any spare tetanus shots laying 'round," he teased slinging his crossbow over his shoulder and coming to set her free.

After she was disentangled, Daryl held two strands of barbed wire apart for her to slip through the fence. When she turned to reciprocate, he was already passing her and heading toward the tree line. Just as Daryl had said, they entered a clearing where a lonely stone chimney stood, its house having burned down around it.

"It don't look like they'll be comin' home anytime soon." Daryl at least provided amusing commentary. "But we can at least check out the barn." He gestured toward the solid looking structure about a hundred yards away across the rutted driveway that lead into the woods the opposite direction from which they had come.

"Yes, at least we can check out the barn..." Beth repeated with more than a little trepidation. They didn't really have a great track record with barns.

Daryl had instructed her to stay outside while he checked out the barn. When he returned a few minutes later, he through open the doors signaling the "all clear".

"Nothin' in there but hay stacked high. We can make our fire right out here then sleep all nice 'n warm on the hay."

"I thought you said your job was to keep me alive?"

"Yeah...didn't I find us a nice safe place to sleep?" He clearly didn't understand her reason for protest.

"Build a fire that close to the hay barn, and you're likely to get us both blown up. Hay isn't just flammable; it can be highly combustible. We can sleep in the barn, but I think we should cook in the hearth," Beth suggested as she headed back to the free standing fireplace across the road. She felt a little pride well up in her chest having known something useful that Daryl didn't.

She could hear that Daryl was following her. All in all, it hadn't been a bad day.

By dark, the fire was burning warm, the squirrels were roasting, their dripping fat sizzling in the fire, and they were sharing a rare treat, a can of peaches they had found in the now burned cabin that had sheltered them at the beginning of their journey. It sort of felt like an unofficial, unspoken celebration. So many bad things hand happened that it only seemed fair to enjoy what things could be enjoyed, no matter how little. And if she focused really hard on not thinking about the world falling apart around them, it almost felt like they were just two friends enjoying a nice fire on a autumn night rather than survivors thrown together by circumstance, fleeing, trying desperately to find their place in the world.

"Daryl..."

"Hmm?" he half answered, wiping peach juice from his mouth.

"How did you not know about the hay?"

"Dang girl, just 'cause I grew up country don't mean I know anything about farming." Daryl gave a good natured reply, reaching out and giving her shoulder a friendly nudge.

"Sorry...I just assumed..." Beth didn't really know where she was going with her thought. In hindsight, it had been a really silly assumption to make.

"You know what they say happens when you assume. You make an..."

"I know, I know..." she cut him off before he could finish.

"Just sayin' how it is," Daryl finished, popping another soft peach slice into his mouth.

"I wouldn't have to assume if you would just talk about yourself every once in a while rather than having to be all mysterious all the time."

"I just ain't all that interesting...didn't think anybody much cared about who I was. They're interested in my hunting, tracking, survival know how, and God knows why, everybody wants my opinion or wants me to make decisions...those are all things I can offer somethin' in. Who really cares what my middle name is or what my favorite movie is?" Daryl stood up to check the squirrels that were blackening over the fire.

It was funny the way he talked about himself. It sounded like he felt the world used him for what he was good at, not really caring who he was or what he felt, but it didn't seem like it bothered him; it seemed like he took a great deal of pride in that.

Daryl cut the spit in two, handing Beth her squirrel.

"Careful, don't burn yourself," Daryl cautioned as he sat back down with his share.

"You know I can't eat a whole squirrel by myself," she told him for at least the 20th time since their flight from the prison, but he always gave her the same amount he took as well as the same reply:

"Eat all you can, and I'll finish what you don't want."

As Beth was carefully pulling off chunks of charred meat, she couldn't help but think about how much she had been able to adapt in the new world.

"You know...I never used to eat food with my hands. Not even pizza or French fries or anything like that," Beth offered.

"I know..." Daryl replied, grinning in the firelight.

"How do you know? See, your assuming now!" Beth called him out with the same good nature he had used when she made her assumption.

"No, I'm not assuming. I know. All anyones gotta do is look at you to figure out something like that."

What was that supposed to mean? Then again...he was probably right.

"And Beth, if you wanna know something about me, all you gotta do is ask..."


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl took a deep breath. Had he just opened himself up like that?

_What the Hell. What can it hurt?_

"What's your favorite food?" Beth was quick to jump at his offer, but the question seemed harmless enough.

"You mean besides squirrel?"

Beth gave a girly little giggle, the kind he imagined girls made at their slumber parties when talking about cute boys in hushed, excited voices.

_God, she's so young._

"No, seriously, when I was little and my mom was havin' a good day, that is before she died, she used to make these really awesome oatmeal butterscotch cookies." Daryl closed his eyes tight for a minute, and he could almost smell them, taste them so hot outta the oven that they burned his hands and mouth, but they were so good it didn't matter.

"And you know now how homemade cookies are the little precut squares in the packages you get at the store and cook at home...no these were the real homemade kind with the measured out flour and sugar and everything. I know for the world you come from, that's how things always were, but for me, that was special." He paused a minute realizing he was neglecting his dinner, took a bite, wiping the grease from his chin, and glancing over at Beth who was intently waiting for him to continue.

"I used to sit and watch her cook, and everything just seemed so perfect and normal in those moments...nothin' else mattered...and my mom...she made em extra special...she put chocolate chips in with the butterscotch ones too. Always on my birthday and Christmas, I knew I would get em..." Daryl trailed off, realizing how much of a deal he was making about stupid cookies.

_Jeez, all she asked was what your favorite food was..._

Daryl swallowed the lump of emotion and cleared his throat to mask it.

"It sounds like a really good cookie," Beth offered with sincerity. She reached over and squeezed his lower arm in what he assumed was a comforting gesture. It felt nice.

"Yup..." was all he could manage at the moment.

"Daryl?" This time she was much more hesitant in her approach. This wasn't going to be a favorite food question.

"Hmm..."

"Is it harder for you to kill people than walkers?"

_God Beth...really? We gotta go there?_ But then the question seemed inevitable following what he had done to protect her.

"You lookin' for the long version or the short?"

Her silence was her answer. She wouldn't push him for more than he was willing to give.

_Shit...here goes...why the Hell not?_

"Well...it seems like that question should be real easy to answer. Walkers are just corpses moved by impulse which seems to me at least to put them on a moral level below animals that are at least driven by instinct. People, on the other hand are livin', breathin', thinkin' creatures capable of complex rationalization, compassion, sympathy, and all that stuff." Daryl stopped to think about the words coming outta his mouth, and he couldn't decide if he sounded more like a psychology book or a bleedin' heart liberal.

Beth took his pause as the end of his answer.

"So, its harder to kill humans," she summed up.

"Naw, I said it seems like it should be. Killing walkers on a normal day..." _Yeah, that really fits the description of a "normal" day_ "...is less than nothing. You're just protectin' yourself and the people you love by destroying something that's already dead. But then with people, the things that make em human, their abilities and whatnot, their decisions, make em easy to kill."

"Like how they choose to live and what they choose to do makes them deserve to die?"

"Yeah Lil' Bit. Especially in this world where there's no law to keep you safe. Only each other. Do you remember what the last man standing in that clearing said to me when he was tryin' to stay alive?"

Beth shook her head. He hadn't really expected her to remember.

"He didn't plead for his life, say he was sorry, or even promise to never do something like that again. He said 'we didn't know that she belonged to anyone...not anyone like you'. As if you had no right to be safe just because they thought that you didn't have someone strong enough to protect you. I'll remember those words until the day I die." Daryl could tell that his voice had taken the tone of the anger he had repressed since that event. "And Beth...I just didn't kill him...I wanted to kill him when I saw what he and the others were doing to you...it was one of the easiest decisions I've ever made." His voice had dropped to a softer, gentler tone...well, at least as soft and gentle as his tone ever was...as he got his emotions back under control.

Daryl reached out to her and softly touched her bruised cheek then let his hand linger down to where her busted lip was healing. Seeing her like that still enraged him.

"You don't ever let a man hit you Beth. Any man touches you again and I'll kill him, you hear me?"

Beth nodded her head as he let his hand drop away.

"Those men that did that...they would have done far worse. Killing them...what I did to them...it wasn't just right...it was just." He knew that she knew all that, but he just had to say it.

"I would never hit you Beth. I would cut off my own hands before I would hurt you..."

"I know Daryl. You may not think so, but I know...I know your a good man," Beth said quietly.

He paused for a moment to consider what had to come next. Beth was watching, waiting intently for him to finish as it was clear he had more to say.

_Here comes the hard shit._ He took a deep breath, preparing himself.

"And then the two hardest things I've ever done in my life were killing a human and killing a walker. Back at your daddy's farm...when Dale was dying...and I...helped him leave..."

No one knew...knew the impact it had on him. _Sorry Brother_, then he had pulled the trigger. He told Rick that he shouldn't have to carry all the burdens, but he would take pulling that trigger to the grave. No one knew...until now.

Daryl was almost entirely choked up, but he had to finish. He just had to get this last part out and the worst would be over. He would never have to say it again.

"And the walker...I...I put Merle down."

He was quiet. He lowered his head, not knowing what came next. Beth moved so close by his side she was touching him. She took his calloused hand in both her soft, small ones, resting them in his lap. Their hands together looked so strange...from two very different worlds...but he didn't want her to let go.

"I killed my brother," he managed, just loud enough for the both of them to hear.

Beth didn't say anything. He didn't need her to say anything. She was there, and the silence that followed showed she understood.


	7. Chapter 7

The hay was warm at least. After he'd spilled his guts and they'd called it a night, making their bed on the hay, Beth had fallen asleep quickly; his chaotic thoughts kept him wide awake. He shouldn't have said all he said. It showed his weaknesses, and she didn't need someone weak. She needed someone strong. It was strange for him, being so close to someone 24/7, just that person, and what he was feeling was strange too. In another life, it would have strangled him. He had always been the kinda lone wolf, not in the Emo pouty teenager kinda way, but solo was just SOP for him...his most efficient and previously preferred mode of operation. He made the group thing work, made some friends, really became part of a family, but they still recognized him as a loner...for the most part. Carol had challenged that and tried to break through his barriers, but he just couldn't let her. Beth was different. In this situation, there was no room for fantasy. Beth realized that...maybe she had been one of the only ones who had realized that all along. He was who he was, did what he could and wanted to do, and she didn't expect anything more or less than that.

Beth had fallen to the hay beside him, just as she had stayed by him every night since she was attacked. Her head rested near his shoulder, and her hand always found its way to rest over his heart. Maybe even in her sleep, she was gonna make sure he kept his promise not to die.

Just then, the night became alive with the yips, barks, growls, and howls of a coyote pack setting off to hunt. Their music was a welcome sound to him; it had been close to a year or more since he had heard the woods so alive. It seemed even the predators in nature had been silenced by the onslaught of the apocalypse. Maybe...

His thought was shattered as Beth shot up from her sleep beside him, breathing heavy and clenching his shirt in terror.

"Daryl...they're so close! They can't get in...can they?" Her frantic hushed whisper made him shake his head from his reclined position.

"Good God farm girl. Never heard a coyote before?" Daryl sat up, putting a protective arm around her, drawing her close.

"They never got so close...they stayed in the woods..." Beth was shivering, whether from fear or cold, he didn't know.

"Well, it just so happens that this barn's near the woods. And last time I checked, I barred the door from the inside."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure..." Daryl bit back his sarcastic comment about the fact that coyotes couldn't open doors anyway. It was unnecessary considering her state, and it would come across as cruel rather than calming. "Come on Beth, back to sleep...I got you." He pulled her back down to the hay with him, reaching over to gently stroke her hair. "Don't worry, even if they could get in, they wouldn't eat you...you're too skinny...not worth their time."

"Not helping..." Beth whispered as the choir of coyotes continued.

She reached across the expanse of his chest, trying to pull closer, but there wasn't anymore distance to close. All he could do was wrap his other arm around her and try to sooth her. He knew that all her fear couldn't just be about the coyotes yipping, but he couldn't see inside her head.

"Think about it this way...they wouldn't be out there makin' all that noise hunting if there were walkers around." This was taking him back to his original thought before Beth woke in a start.

"You think...?" Beth questioned.

When he bent his head up and looked down at her, she was looking up at him with expectant yet sleepy eyes.

"I don't think. I know. Coyotes are afraid of humans, and we don't even really ever bother with em or wanna eat em. Walkers on the other hand will eat anything livin' while its still alive."

By the time he finished, the coyotes had moved on. He could hardly hear them off in the distance, and Beth had fallen back asleep. He could feel her steady heartbeat and rhythmic breathing against his side. It was comforting.

_Maybe nature is starting to right itself_.One thing was evident. The walkers "lived" to eat, so the conclusion had to be that they ate to "live" as it was. What happened when they ran out of food or the food figured out how to evade them? Would they move on and eventually "die"? Would their brains freeze in a hard winter...harder than they had in Georgia most of the time, and if so, would they be able to switch back on when they thawed out.

He was no thinker...no scientist...but he knew nature pretty good. Maybe if someone else out there had the time to think about the bigger picture...but he sure in the hell didn't. He had one priority now, and it wasn't the world.

It was pretty clear that the walkers were beginning to move about in giant herds to find food...they had all experienced that first hand. What was also clear was that he needed to find a place for them that offered very few walker dining options. Whether that meant heading to more remote regions of Georgia or leaving the state-maybe heading somewhere like the Dakotas or Montana that had vast regions with sparse population-but that was a huge step. A long dangerous journey, unfamiliar terrain, lack of supplies and shelter, it could mean life...or death. He would have to think on it more, but it was a definite possibility. Such a move would also almost guarantee that even if the rest of their group was alive, they would never see them again. Would Beth be willing to make that sacrifice? He had the feeling that she would follow him. But would he be able to make her give that up? One step at a time. They needed a more concrete direction. They couldn't just keep stabbing blindly into the wilderness "away" from what had happened. Maybe if it was just him...but it wasn't. He needed to figure out where they were and where they could go. He needed a map, an address...and that meant stepping back out into the open.

* * *

Beth was struggling to keep up with Daryl. He was pressing hard, and she couldn't help feeling fatigued. Daryl wasn't doing it on purpose, he just seemed to have one speed, and that speed was "go". And today, for whatever reason, he seemed to be especially driven. He had to be in amazing shape to keep his momentum. She tried to think back to the cabin when he had been briefly without a shirt in front of her, but she didn't remember much of that day and couldn't pull the image up in her mind. Well, she didn't need to imagine to verify his "athletic" nature. It was funny to think back to high school where the football and basketball players spent endless hours in the weight room hoping for the resulting chiseled abs, but Daryl achieved his physique by living.

Daryl had noticed her lagging a bit earlier in the day and had taken the backpack from her. With the bag secured across his back, his crossbow in hand, all their guns and ammo except the gun she carried and her two spare magazines, as well as his knives, he still managed to take down two stray walkers they had met along the way, and provide dinner in the form of two fat rabbits, all while keeping them heading forward. Her Momma had always teased Daddy by saying that men couldn't multitask, but Daryl seemed to have it pretty much down to an art. Just as she was about to give up and tell Daryl she needed to stop, he turned back to her, his breath as even and unlabored as if he were taking a pleasant afternoon turn around the garden.

"Let's take a break. I need a breather."

He most certainly did not need a break...he probably just didn't want her to feel bad about needing to stop. He gestured for her to follow him a little further into the woods where he found a log for her to sit on and a tree for him to lean against. For the past few hours, they had been traveling along a tree line bordering a clear cut path for the endless row of power lines. They had stopped just before a steep incline that she had been dreading for a half a mile or so when it first appeared on the horizon.

"Daryl, I'm sorry...I'm so tired. Can't we just find a place where we can maybe rest for a day?" She was ashamed to have to place such a burden on him and couldn't look at him, not wanting to see disappointment or disgust on his face.

"Yeah, I was thinkin' we might need to do that. I'd like to keep movin', but that won't really do us any good if we can't run or fight when we need to."

He didn't really seem bothered by the notion, and that lifted a bit of worry off Beth's shoulders.

"And it always seems to come down to the fighting and the running." He passed her a refilled bottle of water he had just taken a leisurely sip from.

"Thanks..."

"I'll tell you what. We'll keep an eye out for a good place to rest a day or two, and if we find a car that runs, we'll take it."

They hadn't actually seen any cars to take, but the promise that they would, given the opportunity, sounded like heaven. Daryl's immediate plan seemed to have avoided the idea of a car though.

"I thought you wanted to stay off the roads?" Beth questioned, taking another drink of water.

"Yeah, I did, but plans change. I'm kinda out of fight or flight mode. We need a more concrete plan, or at least a more concrete means to make that plan happen. And at least if we find a car and hit the road, I'll be able to figure out where we are. I know what we are running from. It might be a good idea to make sure we're not headed in the direction of something worse."

She idly wondered if Daryl was the kind of man who fit the cliché of not wanting to stop and ask for directions. Probably not. As a tracker, he seemed to have his own personal internal GPS going for him.

"Come on Lil' Bit. Lets see if we can find us that car."


	8. Chapter 8

The "hill" was just as taxing as she had anticipated. The situation was exacerbated by tall grass left untouched by livestock or mower and accumulated moisture. Daryl stayed close by her side, glancing attentively her way every few steps. At least, he didn't make her feel like she was being babysat, but he was keeping an eye out. About halfway up the hill, Beth lost her footing and cringed, anticipating a hard fall, but Daryl with his cat-quick reflexes grabbed her wrist, holding it high until she regained her footing.

"I got you Lil' Bit. Careful now. There must've been some rain here. It's pretty slick." Daryl held her steady on her feet.

She didn't thank him this time. He was probably fed up with her having to thank him.

Daryl spent the rest of the climb hauling her up the hill behind him. To his credit, even when they reached the top, he didn't seem any worse for wear. When she was safely on even ground, Beth sat in the grass and looked at the distance they had just traversed. From up here, it didn't look so bad, just a gentle slope really.

"Hmph..." Daryl let out ironically.

Beth turned to see Daryl facing the opposite direction. What did that say about their personal outlooks? She was always looking back and he forward to what they had yet to face.

"What's wrong...what is it?" Beth couldn't see from her current location.

Daryl dropped his arm offering her a hand up.

"Come see...someone must be smiling down on us today."

Beth looked down the slope, finding the deserted four lane highway and the car dealership that lay just to the other side.

The descent was much easier than the climb.

"How far is it? Things always seem closer than they really are." She questioned.

"Hmm...maybe half a mile, little less or more. In a few minutes, you'll be pickin' out your new car with no hassle from a salesman."

"I've never hand a new car...well, I've never had a car...but my family...they were never new car people." Beth though back about how her Daddy always said having a new car was frivolous.

"Me neither. When I was young, I always wanted a new car or a really old one," Daryl replied while scanning the terrain for possible threats.

Daryl was starting to offer more about himself.

"Why in the world is there a car dealer in the middle of nowhere?" Beth questioned as the ground leveled and they were drawing closer to the highway.

"This ain't a highway to nowhere. Sometimes businesses like this pop up outside of towns so they don't have to pay city taxes. Not everyone loves givin' Uncle Sam what he thinks he deserves. It could also be a business that serves several towns...though I'm hoping that's not the case." Daryl stopped for a moment, as he seemed to consider what he was saying. "We know for sure there's a sizable town in one of these directions." He used his crossbow to point both to the right and the left in the direction the highway lead. "I just hope not in both. We need to figure out where we are now and where we're not going."

Out of habit, Beth stopped and looked both ways before stepping foot on the highway. Daryl was already halfway across by the time she started.

"You comin' Lil' Bit?" He called out looking over his shoulder.

As Beth sped up to meet him where he waited in the grassy easement between the divided highway, she wondered how long it would take for such modern "instincts" such as looking before you crossed the road to fade away, and if there were future generations to be born into what the still living considered the apocalypse, what habits would their parents teach them in their place?

They both crossed the remainder of the highway together, climbing a small grassy knoll, and stopping where the grass met the asphalt of the car lot. Beth stood silently as Daryl surveyed the area for danger, whether for walkers or humans, she could not say as each recently proved to pose equal threats.

"Well, my pick would've been a truck, or an SUV at the least, but it seems like all the smart breathers took those," Daryl stated once he apparently assessed there was no immediate threat, at least on the lot. "What kind should we get?"

"How about a really fast one?" Beth could feel genuine excitement ball up in her chest no matter how inappropriate it was in her current situation, but she had to enjoy what she could while she had the chance.

"Well, it looks like there's a whole herd of ponies over there for us to choose from." He gestured to the line of Mustangs parked near the building.

Without thinking, Beth started to move quickly towards the cars like a little kid headed eagerly toward the playground.

"Beth..." Daryl halted here in her tracks as she remembered where she was. "Stay by me."

She didn't just stop and wait for him to catch up, she walked back to his side, remembering what she had promised when Daryl had promised to keep her alive. He didn't admonish her for her impulsiveness, but it was really clear who the adult in the situation was.

"So, can you...what is it called...hotwire...any of these cars that we want?" Beth questioned trying to restrain her excitement.

"Yeah...its a little bit harder with some of the newer ones...its not just hotwiring, there are electronics involved...but I think I could do it."

"Could?" Beth didn't understand. Had he just backpedaled about getting a car?

"Beth, it's a car dealer. The keys are all inside." He smiled a bit, clearly laughing at her expense, but it didn't really matter. What mattered was that they had something to laugh about.

* * *

Daryl approached the tinted glass walls of the building while Beth wove in between the Mustangs. He tried the door, and it was unlocked.

"Beth, come on over here for a minute." _Safety first._

She came immediately.

Daryl took the butt of his crossbow and banged it against the glass wall several times in a quick succession. Beth had her knife in hand, immediately understanding his intention.

"Don't go gettin' attached to a black or red one," he commented casually while they waited for what might or might not come.

"Why not?

What was that, did he detect a hint of protest in her voice. Having known her since the farm, she never really showed much spirit.

"'Cause those're the most common colors produced. We don't wanna be followers, do we? And anyway, if there's anything really awesome to still be had, it'll be on the showroom floor."

More than enough time had passed for any walkers to flock towards the noise so he pulled the door and ushered Beth in, glancing once again over his shoulder.

_And there it is._

Daryl let out a low whistle as he headed towards the Holy Grail of his auto dreams.

"What is it...you like the blue one?" Beth asked, clearly having missed out on a proper automotive education.

"The 'blue one' is a 2010 Roush Stage 3 Mustang in Grabber Blue. We're talkin' about pure American muscle with about 550 horse power with a supercharged 4.6 L V8, 510 lb-ft torque..." When he reached the side of the car, he touched it tentatively as if it weren't real. _There's no fucking way we can be this lucky..._

"You know, you're speaking a foreign language to me?" Beth replied in a good natured tone. "Basically you're telling me that this is every little boy's dream car?"

"No, I'm tellin' you this is a red-blooded American man's dream car. They started production in 2009, with an estimate of about 100 to be built, maybe five in this color at the most. And who knows how many they actually built before..." Before the world went to hell.

"Is it fast?" Beth had to know the answer to that. She was just toying withhim now.

"Hell yeah."

"So then, lets take this one." Beth opened the door and sat in the passenger seat, checking out the interior.

He didn't need to be told twice.

Daryl had his head under the hood checking everything out when he heard Beth's shrill scream.


	9. Chapter 9

~Author's Note: Chapter 8 was a bit meh...I know! I thought I would update quickly to try to make it up. Hope you enjoy, and as always, thanks for reading!~

* * *

Before he could charge in to save her, he was knocked flat on his ass by a rotted torso propelling itself on a mechanic's creeper. All he could think of in that instant was that he should've checked the building better...but he was too fucking distracted...by a car. At least in the first instant his eyes could focus, he saw Beth kicking at the chest of the walker attacking her until she was able to pull the car door shut. Shit wasn't lookin' so good for him. Two more including the one that had turned its attentions from Beth, caught him on their radar, and he could feel the hands of the torso grabbing hungrily at his feet. He was able to free his hunting knife before the two upright walkers tripped over each other, falling on top of him, one face to face with him.

"Beth...run now...do as I say!" He screamed out loud enough for her to hear in the car. "I will find you...later...run..."

There could be others near, and if he wasn't gonna get out of this scrape alive, he didn't need Beth to see the outcome if there was a chance she could survive. He wasn't afraid of dying. Never had been. He would rather live. He would fight to live, but he wasn't afraid. The thing that made his heart drop and will to live even stronger, and yes, maybe even a little afraid was Beth. And the fucked up part was that it wasn't just for Beth's sake that he was feeling the unwarranted emotions, but his own selfishness to cling to her.

He was able to plunge his hunting knife into the skull of the corpse right on top of him, but then its dead weight and the flailing walker on top of it trying desperately to reach his flesh pinned him, and the one at his feet seemed to be his likely end...until it wasn't. The pull at his feet stopped, and he stabbed at the only walker that should still be a threat, but it wasn't either. The weight crushing his chest lessened. As he caught his breath and focused on the world around him again, he saw tiny Beth struggling to pull the body off him. Once the first was removed, he was able to easily throw the rest of the dead weight off and scramble to his feet.

"I told you to run..." He should be furious with her. He had intended to be furious if she had ever disobeyed him again, but he couldn't. He couldn't be anything but grateful.

"I know..." She managed breathless.

She was spattered in blood again, and there was random brain matter clinging here and there, but he had never seen anything so beautiful. He opened his arms to her, and she accepted. He enfolded her in his arms, one tight against her back, and his other hand pulling her head to his chest.

_Its my turn now._ "Thank you."

"Your heart is beating so hard..." Beth whispered against his chest.

"You think?" She won the prize for the most obvious statement of the day.

Suddenly it seemed that she processed what had just happened.

"Are you bit?" She asked in panic, pulling her head back to look up at him.

"Naw...I'm good." Well, he wasn't bit, but he wasn't entirely good.

His heart was pounding, he pulse was racing, and his blood was boiling in his veins. There was something about escaping death that made you do things that shouldn't be done.

_If you do this, nothin' will ever be the same._

Daryl stepped away from Beth, fighting his better judgment and losing in the same instant. Grabbing the back of Beth's neck, he reached down and kissed her, his lips hard against hers. He knew it was wrong, but it didn't feel wrong, and she didn't pull away. She reached for him awkwardly, grabbing his shirt in a tight fist. Her response removed all good sense and decency that might have remained in him, and he reached for the small of her back, pulling her up and crushing her small, soft body against his. It had been so long...and he had never tasted someone as sweet as her...or felt such a strange tightness in his chest.

When he released his hold on Beth, they remained connected, his hand low on her back and her hand tentatively on his heart. She was breathless. So was he.

_Nothin' will ever be the same._

Her lips were swollen and red, matching the bright blush that spread across her pale cheeks. And then he remembered how battered her face was, her lip still healing.

_You fucking brutal bastard..._he cursed himself when he realized how rough he had been.

"I'm sorry Beth...I shouldn't have..." He kept his voice soft, and it trailed off when he couldn't find the right words. Instead of words, he reached up and gently touched her wounded lip then caressed her bruised cheek to show her he knew what he did was wrong.

He should, for both their sakes, blame it on the situation, but that would be a two fold lie, a lie to himself and a lie to Beth. He had to make it up to her. He had to make it right. And for whatever fucked up reason his mind came up with, apparently making it right meant kissing her again. This time, he was more aware of himself and Beth and her response. He pulled her close, and when he reached down to meet her lips, they were softly parted in anticipation of the moment. Whether or not Beth knew he was going to kiss her again, her body knew. She allowed herself to melt into his body without a forceful hand from him. He opened his eyes to look at her, to see the girl he didn't deserve to kiss, when he realized again what a selfish idiot he was being. He pulled out of the kiss abruptly, snatching his bow up from the floor, gesturing for Beth to follow.

"Come on Beth, we need to sweep the rest of the building, make sure there ain't no more where those came from..."

* * *

Daryl had broken the glass on the front of the vending machine in the employee lounge with the butt of his bow. She volunteered to gather what was useful while he searched the office for a map. As she threw the gummy bears and Twizzlers in the "discard" pile and the cookies, muffins, and granola bars into the "keep" pile, Beth couldn't help find the irony in separating the bad from the worse in their nutritional choices. Right now, the priority was placed on high calorie foods with the most filling and staying power that they could fit in their bag.

The kiss...kisses...she was trying to put them out of her mind. They didn't mean anything, did they? At least not for him. And he had apologized. That meant Daryl hadn't wanted to kiss her in the first place...but then, he kissed her again. She had never been kissed by a man before. She had been kissed, yes, but never by anyone as mature as Daryl. And those kisses tended to be sloppy, needy, and generally one sided, leaving her wanting with an empty feeling in her heart. These kisses kept her wanting...in an entirely different way. This...this had been different...for her. Then he had just pulled away and kept her close beside or behind him as he swept the rest of the building for more walkers. Of course he had kissed her. She had often read that when a man faced down a violent threat, passion followed, and she was the only girl that was there. Maybe that was why he kissed her. Maybe he had always done that with women he fought beside. She would never have known. She decided to try to put the whole thing out of her mind as she shoved the food cache into her bag and grabbed two bottles of Gatorade out of the soda machine that had also met its demise at Daryl's hand.

Daryl was sitting at the desk in the large office's executive chair pouring over a map with a marker in hand. She sat down across the desk from him, not sure whether or not he noticed her he was so intent on his task.

"I come bearing gifts of electrolytes..." Beth offered, trying to lighten the mood. "Electrolytes are good..." she ended awkwardly.

"Hmmm..."

"What kind do you want? Blue or blue?"

"Blue's fine..." Daryl replied, taking what she offered.

So, at least he was paying attention.

Beth leaned forward to see the map to try to discern what Daryl's possible plan was. All she saw were two large X's, two areas circled, and two different lines connecting the two circles.

"See Beth, this is where we are." Daryl stood, crossed to her side, turning the map as he went, pointing to one of the circled areas. He was leaning so close over her that she could feel his body heat. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "We don't wanna go this way. This seems like it is a pretty big town," he pointed to one of the X-ed out areas, clearly one direction of the highway they had crossed.

"What's this?" Beth questioned, pointing to the other blatant X on the map.

"Prison. We can't go back that way."

Well, that went without saying.

"So where is this?" She gestured to the other large circle to which two routes were mapped out. It didn't seem like there was anything significant or special about it.

"Well, you see, what I was thinkin'...here is a river..." Daryl leaned closer to her, his chest touching her shoulder, pointing out the feature on the map. "And then here and here are two creeks that meet up with the river," he gestured to two lines that met perpendicularly with the river.

"Okay, I see."

"I think they're all pretty significant waterways cause at at least one point, each has state conservation public access for boats and fishing and such. If we're lucky and we can find somewhere around there with our backs close to the river, we know the walkers can only come at us from one way."

Daryl wasn't a man who boasted or celebrated his abilities, but she could tell from the inflection in his voice that he believed in his plan. He believed they could find somewhere safe.

"Okay. Sounds good. So what now?" Beth couldn't have come up with a better plan if she tried.

"Well, this is the most direct route," he traced one line from point "A" to point "B", "but this way takes us through some really tiny towns that might still have some stuff to scavenge. Either way we choose, we're gonna stop and rest somewhere safe a day like I promised and consider the plan some more. We don't know what we'll find there or who else might of had the same thought. If it comes to fighting or running, we need to rest."

Before he kicked into "action" mode, Beth felt Daryl's breath on the side of her neck, his lips so close she could almost feel them...her skin tingled. She unintentionally stiffened, anticipating what would come next. It wasn't what she expected either way as he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.

_So much for forgetting._


	10. Chapter 10

"Come on Lil' Bit. If we're gonna go out, at least we're gonna go out in style."

It drove like a dream. It purred at rest and roared when revved, pure modern American muscle, more than likely, the last of a rare breed in a dying world. And it was fast, just like he promised Beth. And there was Beth, ridin' shotgun, smiling. This was a dream...or a hallucination. Her smiling in their fucked up world even after all the shit that had went down, and not just today. Her watching him. Maybe if he had been ten or twelve years younger, he wouldn't have felt so shitty about liking it. If only he was young again...but in this moment, it really didn't seem to matter. There were twenty or so miles of open highway before the first turn off on their route.

"Come on Daryl, slow down. Let's not take it too fast...let's enjoy the ride," Beth purred. Her lips said one thing, but the spark in her eyes said another. Something that was not to be ignored.

"Really Blondie? You think this is too fast? We're just in third." Daryl could hear the excitement rising in his own voice.

He floored it as he threw it into fourth, the powerful surge throwing them back in their seats. Beth let out an adorable squeal followed by laughter. He couldn't help grinning. It was a good day...it was a very good day...until...he was blindsided...it all came crashin' down around him...

"Can I drive?" She was totally serious.

"What?" He heard exactly what she said, but he needed to buy time.

"Can I drive?" Beth repeated cheerily as if he should have no reason to turn her down. His heart constricted in his chest, and not in a good way.

"I don't know...can you?" He put on the brakes so he could handle this little situation at a safer speed.

"Come on Daryl, you know what I mean. Will you let me drive?"

She thought he was playing a cute little mind game.

"No...I'm dead serious...can you drive?" This was going in a very bad direction.

"Yes," Beth replied all too quickly.

Could he really say no. She had just saved his life after all.

"Who taught you?" He needed more time. Maybe he could keep her distracted till they got somewhere to stop for the night.

"Um...Maggie a few times...and Shawn..." She looked all sweet and innocent, but right then she was Satan in a Sunday hat.

...maybe he owed her this much...

"Do you have a driver's license?"

Beth batted her eyelashes at him and smiled.

"I left it at home..."

"No..." It didn't come out concrete enough the first time, and he needed to stand his ground. "No. You can bat your eyes all you want and smile all innocent like, but there's no way in Hell I'm gonna teach a girl to drive, much less how to drive a stick!"

"Fine. I didn't want to drive anyway...sticks scare me." Beth smiled.

She had been toying with him! And he had let her make him sweat.

"Silly girl..." he replied gruffly then softening it with a half smile. "You got some spirit, don't you?"

But eventually, he might need to teach her to drive for her own safety. He didn't know what he dreaded more. The idea of that or a herd of walkers...

* * *

The house Daryl chose for their short convalescence was nothing much to look at, just a normal rural American home. He had exited the highway on a whim to find shelter, and this spot spoke to him, not because it was particularly secure or out of the way, but because it boasted a semicircular front drive with two points of exit as well as a driveway from the back. In their situation, multiple exit options where one of the best features they could look for when "shopping" for prime real estate. Everything seemed deserted, but it didn't seem to him that the place had been looted, so they might luck out and find something useful too.

As Daryl pulled up the parking break, the tires skidding to a stop. After he turned the car off, he sat silent for several long moments waiting to see if the noise of the car drew out any local walkers. Beth got the drift and followed his example, but then she had a good sense about when she shouldn't be too chatty. Guess that could be credited to growing up in the apocalypse. For the drive at least, life had felt more than normal, and the highway and roads were unexpectedly clear of the dead, abandon cars, and the walking dead. But then again, they had traveled rural highways and roads that probably never saw the same amount of traffic that the ones closer to Atlanta did. They both eased out of the car.

"Okay, when we go in, no guns unless there's no choice...we gotta save the bullets till we really need em. You keep your knife in hand."

Beth nodded. They met just a few steps from the front door of the house. He checked his bow at the same time as he assessed the surroundings. He would not be caught unaware for the second time in a day. He didn't wanna take any chances. Their luck wasn't gonna run out on his watch.

"I want you on me Beth." _Shit, that didn't come out right._ "I want you right behind me. Put your hand on my back," he instructed.

Beth hesitated, seemingly a bit confused.

"Beth, now. I want you to stay right behind me." He felt her grab his shirt at the small of his back. "Don't let go unless all Hell breaks loose. And even if it does, stay with me unless..."

"Got it, Daryl." Beth cut him off before he could finish.

He pounded on the front door with the butt of his crossbow. From inside, he could hear at least one start growling and snapping at the thought of a meal, but it didn't sound like it was gettin any closer, so it must be stuck. He pushed the door open, shining his flashlight into the dark.

"Looks like we got us a swinger," he noted, Beth leaning around him to see.

The woman had hung herself from the ceiling fan, and the reanimated corpse was suspended from the fan, swinging, and grabbing, and clawing the air for the meal it would never have. Before he could make anymore inappropriate comments or Beth took in too much of the horror of the scene, he put a bolt through its eye. Almost as if on cue, another walker, slow and clumsy, stumbled through the door at the opposite side of the room.

"And there he is...Mr. 'Swinger' himself..." Daryl just couldn't help it.

He shown his light at the walker and saw its fleshless bottom jaw just hanging from the left side of it face. Its right cheek and ear were gone. He had botched his own suicide. Daryl wondered morbidly for a moment whether the man had died instantly from the botched shot or if he had laid somewhere bleeding out.

"Daryl...shoot him..." there was panic rising in her voice, and confusion as to why he hadn't shot the damn walker.

"He can't hurt us. He ain't got no jaw to bite with," Daryl explained as he shot it through the eye anyway.

Either way, it was done.

They swept the rest of the modest home together, finding no other threats. They ended in the master bedroom. Beth sat on the edge of the made up bed and pulled a silver picture frame off the nightstand. From his position, he saw it was Mr. and Mrs. "Swinger's" wedding picture.

"They were just normal people." Beth's voice turned melancholy.

"What didn't you expect Beth, the Dalai Lama or something."

He couldn't begin to offer comfort if he didn't know why she was upset, but he probably came across as harsh, and he silently cursed himself. It wasn't his job to be mean to her.

"Who do you think went first? They clearly didn't have it planned...they don't look like they went together." She traced a finger across the glass in the frame.

Daryl took a seat beside her on the bed, leaning his bow against the footboard and confiscating the photo.

"I don't know Beth." He laid the picture aside and took her hand.

"Do you think he left her, and then she had no choice?' Her head was down, and she was staring to the point where their hands were connected.

"If he did, he wasn't nothin' but a coward." It probably wasn't the right answer, but it was the truth. "Come on now, I'm gonna go check out back and take care of the bodies while you head in and see what we have in the way of food."

He pulled Beth to her feet, grabbing his crossbow, and moving into action. If she was busy, maybe she wouldn't have time to be sad.


	11. Chapter 11

~Author's Note: Just a chapter with Daryl and Beth getting to enjoy some normal things while sheltering from the horrors of their world-appreciating the beauty in the ordinary.~

* * *

Daryl left out the back door while she stood alone in the kitchen. Opening the cabinet doors, she found that at least they had left the kitchen well stocked. Flour, sugar, canned goods, all the basics...and to her delight, a gas oven. Whatever they ate tonight, it wouldn't be cooked over a fire. Beth was startled out of her fantasy when she heard the familiar thrum of Daryl's crossbow followed by a high pitched scream. She ran to the back door, drawing her knife, almost bowling over Daryl coming back into the house with a chicken skewered on a crossbow bolt.

"Whoa there Lil' Bit. There's chickens out back. I got us dinner," he proclaimed proudly, presenting his prize.

"You shot a chicken?" It seemed a little bit of overkill to shoot a chicken, and the words were the filler she needed to calm the rush of fear that spread through her at the sound of the crossbow.

"Well, I sure wasn't about to go chasing it around the yard. Do you want it or not?"

"Yeah, but not until its plucked and cleaned and has no head!" Beth had steadied her emotions.

"Jeez country girl...when did you get so bossy?" Daryl asked like a dejected child.

"Killing, cleaning, and plucking were never in my job description."

Daryl turned away, taking his kill with him.

"Daryl..." She called out, and he looked back over his shoulder. "There's a gas stove in here. If you can find some eggs, I can fry the chicken nice as Sunday dinner."

"Hell Beth, for real fried chicken, I'll lay the eggs myself if I got to." He smiled at her and went to work.

Daryl returned the cleaned gutted chicken to her promptly in addition to six scavenged eggs. With the stocked kitchen-a dream following the society's crash-Beth had no problem pulling together a meal that was not at all improvised while leaving plenty of food for the next day if they were going to stay as well as some they could take with them when they left. Southern fried chicken, fried (canned) new potatoes, fancy cut green beans, and sourdough biscuit mix, just add water. They had lucked out on the water front too when Daryl had discovered the hand pump in the back yard. She had a mind to make good use of that later.

Beth was humming as she was dropping breaded chicken pieces into the sizzling oil. Daryl passed through twice, dragging the bodies out the back, and she smiled at him both times. He returned the gesture. She couldn't help feeling happy. Everything almost felt normal.

How could she feel happy or even normal?

The world was in its death throes.

The dead walked the earth.

They had almost died a few hours ago.

Her family was either all dead or missing.

But he had kissed her...even if he was sorry.

And they were alive.

Could that be enough?

* * *

When Daryl came to the table with the lit Coleman lantern, he stopped and smiled. She felt proud. They had candles-no need for the camping lantern-folded crisp napkins, silverware-although she doubted Daryl ate fried chicken with a fork and knife-and a full meal any woman could be proud of, on a normal day.

"Dang Lil' Bit! You really busted out the Paula Deen on this one." He sat the lantern on the sideboard to provide extra light, then took his seat at the head of the table.

It was a good compliment. Beth fixed Daryl's plate for him before she took the seat at his right hand-maybe a little bit too 1950s housewife, but he'd taken care of her for so long, he deserved it.

"Sorry there's no butter or jam for the biscuits," Beth apologized while making her own plate. She knew there was nothing to apologize for, but her Mama always taught her to be humble when she felt her pride swell.

"I wouldn't even have noticed if you hadn't said anything," Daryl confessed before diving into his food.

To his credit, Daryl did use his fork for everything but the chicken, and he liberally applied his napkin.

There was very little talking at the table...just a lot of eating...and more eating. When Daryl had literally finished everything, he leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his back and stretching. The accompanying cracks and pops worried Beth a bit...had he been hurt today...but he didn't complain, so she didn't ask.

"Beth, that was amazing. Why were you never the one cookin' at the prison?" It was a lovely compliment, but they both realized the implications of the question and the loss it eluded to.

"It just wasn't my job," Beth replied calmly, refusing to let the loss of Judith ruin her night. "But dinner isn't over."

She jumped up, returning from the kitchen with dessert, setting it down in front of Daryl.

"Is that a pie?" he asked, his voice in awe over something so simple.

"I'd hardly call it a pie...a makeshift pie maybe. It's just a cornmeal crust made out of a prepackaged cornbread muffin mix, canned apple pie filling, some brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon," Beth explained, serving him an oversized helping.

"Beth...shut up...the world crashed, and if I say it's a pie, it's a pie," Daryl proclaimed, taking such a big bite she didn't know how he fit it all in his mouth.

She took a bite of her pie. It was good.

And for the moment, everything was right in the world...even if it was just in their small sphere.

* * *

It took her more than a half hour to heat enough water over the stove to fill the old claw foot bathtub to make a decent bath, but she wasn't going to pass on this golden opportunity. Daryl decided to scavenge through the garage and dilapidated shed out back after he finished all but her piece of apple pie. In the culinary world, that was quite a compliment, even if there weren't many fine dining options left out there. And he didn't only eat because he was hungry. They weren't starving...not even close. Daryl's hunting talent kept them well fed...it was a godsend.

Daryl watched her quizzically from the garage door as she made the numerous trips back and forth from the outdoor water pump. She even made two extra trips for water to heat when she was finished so he might have a bath too.

"What're you doin'?" He asked on one of her trips.

"Taking a bath." Just saying it made her feel human again.

"That's absurd. Baths aren't allowed," he teased.

"Rules are made to be broken...what better time to break them than now?" She retorted before returning to the house.

Where was this attitude coming from. She had never been one who was good with witty repartee or even a suggestion about breaking the rules. Being around Daryl was starting to make her feel strong...and just a little bit rebellious...well, as rebellious as she was ever like to get in her lifetime.

When she dipped her foot into the bathtub to test the water, it was far too hot, but she couldn't resist. Beth slid into the water, embracing its cleansing heat and marveling at the fantastical shapes that appeared in the steam from her arms and hands when she lifted them from the water to come in contact with the cool air. She looked at the haul she was lucky enough to discover waiting at her disposal in the bath basket on the side of the tub. Shampoo, conditioner, scented soap, even a razor. She couldn't imagine Daryl found anything half so precious as she did-although her treasures weren't entirely practical. If only she could actually will herself to use them...it just felt too good, so she gave into the sweet euphoria of the moment.

When she emerged from the bath clean with smooth shaved legs and sweet smelling hair, she felt like a new person. The clean nightgown she found in the bedroom drawer and the fluffy pink robe she borrowed from the bathroom felt like heaven. She heated the extra water on the stove and warmed the bath before she went to find Daryl. He was finishing securing the front door, pushing the heavy couch in front of it to bar anyone, or more likely anything, from entering.

"I warmed the bath for you in case you wanted to take one..."She said softly, not wanting to be too pushy.

He turned, noticing her, shaking his head and grinning, presumably at the sight of her being eaten alive by the giant pink bathrobe.

"I won't argue against a bath...you gonna be okay alone?" She realized, in this calm moment, how much she liked the gravel in his voice.

"Umm-hmm...I'll be fine. I laid some clean clothes out in the bathroom for you. I don't really know men's sizes, but you can see if they fit. If you decide we can stay tomorrow, I'll wash our clothes," Beth offered.

"The doors are all secured." He squeezed her shoulder affectionately as he passed her. She liked that he touched her...he had never really been that way with anyone before...at least not that she had seen. "Thanks Beth," he added as he headed toward the bathroom.

"Hey Daryl...do you want me to take your guns and crossbow for you?" She questioned.

"No thanks...I always want em within reach."

He was a practical man if nothing else.

* * *

Beth pondered the bedroom question carefully. The apparent master bedroom where the wedding picture had been and she found the clothes was where Daryl had left his leather vest on the chair by the door and their extra guns and knives on the nightstands and dresser. A lantern and some random candles lit the room, all evidence leading to the conclusion that he had claimed this space. There was another bedroom. Did he want to sleep alone? He seemed to have been sleeping beside her these last few days since they were on the move out of necessity for security and warmth, but she didn't want to sleep alone. Maybe he wouldn't want to sleep next to her now that there was a choice or because he regretted some things that had happened earlier in the day. So either way, the decision had to be made. She would stay. If he wanted her to leave, he could tell her. He never had a problem with speaking his mind before.


	12. Chapter 12

The bath did him a world of good. Even though Daryl knew they couldn't really be sure they were safe in their present location, it was nice to have a few minutes to feel normal again. He'd even taken the trouble to shave the random facial hair that had sprouted up the last few weeks and neaten the hair he intended to keep. He couldn't help stop and shake his head when he found the clothes Beth laid out for him. The wife-beater he could tolerate as long as it covered his scars, but the red and green plaid flannel pants.

_What the Hell's this for...Christmas morning?_

In the end, he opted for the plaid pants. What good would it do goin' to bed after a bath in dirty clothes?

_Goin' to bed..._

He hadn't really thought much about that until now. There were two beds in the house. He wanted to sleep with her...beside her...something he had never allowed himself to do with women before the world went to Hell. They'd been sleeping beside each other...but did she just do it because she had to? And when he'd kissed her earlier...what if that scared her off? He knew he wanted to kiss her again...

_Fuck it...If she doesn't want you next to her, she'll tell you...and then you'll just've been rejected by a girl you never deserved in the first place._

In regular situations, he didn't mean to move about in stealth mode, but silence was like second nature to him, even before the world wide death spiral began. He stopped instantly at the door at the sight of Beth. She sat perched in the middle of the bed, the absurdly pink bathrobe had fallen off her shoulder baring her pale back. Her hair was still wet and hung in loose twisted ropes down her bare back. Her shapely white legs were bent as she smoothed lotion over them, never once sensing he was near.

Daryl soundlessly retreated back into the darkness of the hallway, pressing his back to the wall and taking a deep breath.

_She's so small...how can her legs go on forever?_

_And holy shit...what in the Hell's she wearing?_

Maybe for a different woman...girl...other than Beth...not around him...the nightgown wouldn't have been scandalous. He just wished there was more of it.

_What's wrong with you? Man the fuck up!_

Daryl entered the room without hesitation, just like he'd come straight from the bathroom and didn't stop to see her luxuriating. He was deliberately assertive entering the bedroom to leave no question about his intention to sleep there so she could say her peace if she pleased. He leaned his crossbow against the wall and slipped the two guns he carried under the pillow closest to the door. He checked the room earlier to see if he thought it was secure enough to sleep in because a real bed sure seemed like a good deal...but the unsecured windows bothered him. Luckily though, the windows were obscured by the overgrown shrubs outside offering concealment, at least enough that he was willing to risk it for a night in a bed. With Beth safe by the windows, he would take the door.

She smiled at him softly as he placed his guns. She smoothed lotion up her leg, over her knee, and across her thigh, the gown creeping up to a point he didn't think he should be seeing. He turned away feeling flushed..._Dammit...be an adult_...and "repositioned" his crossbow closer to the bed.

"How was your bath?" Beth questioned politely.

"It was good you know...just missin' the bubble bath."

Beth gave a little half laugh, and he continued to "fix" his bow. In his old life, if a woman had done what Beth was doing, he would've thought she was coming onto him or she was a tease...but Beth was far too unworldly...he couldn't think of the right word for her...to realize her actions where seductive or would have and effect on men...innocent...was that the word he was looking for?

When he finally turned around, Beth had slipped off the robe entirely and was smoothing lotion up her arms.

"Aren't you cold Lil' Bit?" He questioned, turning away again, this time to shut and lock the door. She hadn't protested his presence, so it seemed "safe" to stay.

_God Beth...you need to cover up..._

"No...I'm good. I'm actually warmer than I've been in a long while."

_Shit, you don't say...me too._

There was nothing left to do but deal with it and change to a more neutral subject. He sat on the edge of the bed, back against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of him. It felt damn good. He picked idly at the plaid pattern in the pants as Beth finally set the lotion aside.

"You know...I'll never forgive you if we have to run in the middle of the night and I'm in these pajamas," Daryl informed her. "Plaid pants don't really inspire fear in your enemies," his voice was gruff, but he knew she would understand he was only teasing...for the most part.

"I don't know Daryl. You really seem to be rocking the tartan plaids." She smiled, still perched in the middle of the bed, very close to him...but how was tonight any different than the other nights?

"Yeah, well, I haven't slept in actual pajamas since I was like twelve or thirteen." It seemed like now he was even unconsciously more willing to share pieces of who he was. He surprised himself a little.

"So, what did you wear to bed before everything fell apart?" The question was asked so innocently.

"...clothes..." _Shit, you hesitated too long._ He felt a wry smile spread across his face and wished he could slap it away.

"Oh...oh..." Beth apparently understood the implication of his answer and blushed enough that he could see it even in the candle light.

"God you smell amazing!" _Fuck, did you really just say that out loud?!_

"You think so? I know right?" Beth immediately shifted from embarrassed to comfortable again. At least him making a jackass outta himself served a higher purpose. "It's the lotion. It's called vanilla cupcake batter." She extended her hand toward him so he could better take in the scent. "Doesn't it smell awesome...make you want to eat my hands right off?"

Daryl couldn't help laughing wholeheartedly; the context of their world was so absurd.

"Boy Lil' Bit...I don't think you wanna be sayin' anything about someone wanting to eat your hands off...I'm sure there'd be plenty of takers."

"Daryl...you're so mean to me!" Her words had no effect on him 'cause he could barely make them out through her giggles.

The awkwardness of the situation quickly faded with his laughter and her giggles, and he soon found himself in the familiar situation of Beth at his side, her arm resting across his chest. Except this time, it was a real bed, with warm blankets, and pillows that were almost too fluffy for his liking, but he wasn't gonna complain none. Beth snuggled closer, but it didn't seem like it was outta fear or cold...maybe it was just what she wanted.

"Beth..." he said softly incase she had already fallen asleep.

"Yeah?"

"You really kicked ass today." Always give credit where credit was due.

"Really?" She asked like she didn't believe what he was saying.

"Really." He told it true.

Beth fell asleep quickly, and he was on the way there too...there was just one last thing on his mind.

_ Hey J.C., if that was you out there helpin' us today, thanks for watching our backs. If your takin' requests, could you please watch out for Beth. She don't deserve this. She's probably too good for this world, but I'm not ready to give her up when I just found her. If this is close to a prayer, Amen. Oh, and J.C., if you don't recognize me, I'm Daryl Dixon. I'm a better man than my father. I'm a better man than my brother. I'm a better man than I used to be. And if it ain't too much to ask, could you help me be good enough...to save her?_


	13. Chapter 13

~Author's Note: So this chapter contains a bit of fluff and it's kind of weak, but it works toward building Daryl and Beth's bond before they eventually face more challenges (which will be coming shortly!). As always, thanks for reading! If I make one person happy, it's entirely worth it! :) ~

* * *

When Beth woke, the sun was streaming through the window, diffused into small rays by the overgrown shrubs. She could feel Daryl pressed behind her, his arm draped over her waist holding her secure. She wasn't afraid of what was outside or what was going on in the world because the here and now wasn't bad at all. Did that make her a bad person? She wondered for a moment what time it was-how long they had been asleep- and then realized it mattered less than nothing. Daryl's warm breath on the back of her neck was calming. She was comfortable. Beth always imagined that sharing a life so closely with someone would take a lot of getting used to-like a really awkward or stressful adjustment period. They weren't a couple or anything, not bound together for life-but after he saved her, it all came so easily. Beth turned around in his arms, careful not to wake him, and watched him sleep in the sunlight. He looked so peaceful and young, not scarred by the world. He wasn't fierce but innocent and vulnerable, a side of Daryl Dixon no one really ever got to see. He had a beautiful soul.

* * *

It was the strange euphoria between sleep and awake. Daryl couldn't move...but he didn't need or want to.

He could smell breakfast.

He was warm.

He could feel the sun.

Fade to black.

A hand brushed the hair back from his face.

His eyes fluttered, the sun blurred the image seen through his eyelashes.

Her eyes were so big and bright as she looked down at him.

The sun in her hair made it look like pale gold. It spilled across her shoulders and fell to tickle his neck. He reached up and took a rope of her hair in his fingers.

Sleep dulled his judgment. He reached his large hand behind her neck, pulling her down into a kiss. When he released Beth, she was very still, her lips still almost touching his.

"I'm not sorry..." His voice was full of the gravel and grit of sleep. Maybe this was all just a dream.

Sleep beckoned to him again, and he couldn't refuse.

* * *

They shared the same plates of breakfast food. She had been lucky enough to find one tray to have breakfast in bed, but Daryl didn't seem to mind sharing. She was still flushed and awkward from being kissed...again...and when he looked at her, her heart beat faster. Did this mean anything? Is this what it was to be an adult?

"Lil' Bit, this is amazing...thank you," Daryl managed with a mouthful.

Beth smiled demurely.

"Thanks...I bet lots of girls have brought you breakfast in bed," she replied, taking a bite of scrambled egg. Was she fishing a little...yes.

"What? No...never. I didn't bring em to where I stayed, and I never stayed long enough for breakfast," Daryl answered shoveling more food.

Oh...so he had been a player or something. She blushed and took a sip of the hot chocolate she had found to hide it.

"Your hair's different today," Daryl commented.

"Oh...yeah...um, I didn't comb out the curl last night before it dried...so now it's a nightmare."

"I like it. It's pretty." She could feel him watching her as she took a strand in hand, examining it to avoid eye contact.

"Thank you..." she managed.

"So what time is it anyway...there was a clock still workin' in the kitchen, wasn't there?" He was really talkative this "morning".

"Yeah...it said it was noonish before I brought breakfast in." Beth smiled, thinking about how absurdly long they had slept.

"How 'noonish'?" Daryl asked, a half frown spreading across his lips.

"Noon-forty-five-ish..."

"Jeez...well, at least we weren't planning on goin' anywhere."

Daryl was quickly distracted by breakfast again, apparently too absorbed to further ponder the wasted day.

* * *

"We should really get up and do somethin'," Daryl said unenthusiastically from beside Beth.

He was sprawled out on top of the covers, hands behind his head on the pillow.

"Get up and do something if you want to. I'm staying right here until it's time to cook more food," Beth said snuggling against one of the pillows. She was full, she was safe, and she was warm. She wasn't moving.

"I don't want to, I just said I should..." He let out a contented sound that resembled a gravelly purr as he stretched and cracked his neck from side to side.

A few minutes passed in silence...comfortable silence though.

"So, here's a question. Why are you so dang pale? I used to think it was 'cause you had some princess in a tower syndrome, like they kept you inside, hidden from the sun, but all this time since we left your house, you never got no darker...you might even be whiter than when we first met if that's possible."

Daryl brought one of his arms down from behind his head and laid it next to hers to compare.

"See, white as snow," he finished, proving his point with the vast difference between their skin tones. "Wasn't there a fairytale started like that?"

"Yeah...it's not 'princess in a tower' syndrome...I'm just anemic." Beth savored his question. He really didn't ask a lot about her.

"You need iron? With all the red meat we've been eatin'? We've really been doing damage on the squirrel and rabbit population on our trip." There was a hint of worry in his voice. The last thing she wanted to do was make him have to worry more.

"Well, it's not just a dietary thing, but I'll be fine..." Beth reassured him.

"Well, what do you need to cure it?" Daryl turned on his side, concern spread across his face.

"Gosh Daryl, don't be so worried. I'll be fine. It's not something that can be cured...I used to just take iron tablets, and those make it better," she explained, hoping his concern would disappear.

"Well, I'll just have to find you some. Until I do, will you get sick or anything?"

"No, sometimes I just get tired...or I might bleed more than other people if I get cut or anything..." This wasn't going to help. "Really, its no big deal."

"It's a big deal. I promised to take care of you," Daryl asserted, leaning up on his elbow, still looking at her but from a more authoritative position.

"You should've left me behind...at the prison. I'm just dragging you down." Beth hadn't actually meant to say that. It just slipped out. She had been trying so hard to be an adult, but sometimes, like just now, the moody teenager she resigned to the past reared its ugly head. Eighteen was a hard age, she came to realize. Everyone expected you to suddenly be an adult, but there was still so much insecurity and uncertainty left. Now more than ever, she needed to be able to put that youth behind so she could survive.

"Unless I'm hallucinating...I'm pretty damn sure you saved my life yesterday." She knew he meant business when the "damn" popped out of his mouth. It wasn't like he never cussed, it just always seemed like he tried not to when talking directly to her. "And I would've never left you behind. We've all been trough so much together...we were on the road so long after the farm, and then the prison..."

"Yeah...but everybody knows you do better on your own. I'm just a burden...holding you back and putting you in danger." Beth was unsure of herself...and she didn't even know why she had gone down this path. Stupid insecurities.

Daryl watched her for a few long moments. Not like he was trying to come up with the right thing to say, but more like he was taking her in, considering her entire existence.

"I heard somewhere once that ancient people, like pre-civilization people, weren't really human until they hit certain benchmarks that gave em their humanity. One of the most fundamental of those was the ability to care for another person even if it meant death. That realization that there is someone out there that is more important than you or your life gives you humanity." Daryl's voice was calm and even as he explained ideas he didn't appear capable of knowing.

That was something about Daryl...he was definitely a book that couldn't be judged by his cover...for the most part. In the good with weapons and survival department, the cover said everything.

"You see Beth..." he continued. "I've been in some really dark places, without that sense of humanity. But you...you're my anchor to humanity...and if I lost you, I don't know if I could come back from that dark place again." Daryl wasn't looking her in the eye, like he had divulged his deepest, darkest secret and was afraid to see her reaction.

"Well, I hope we never have to find that out..." _Was that the right thing to say?_

"I would die for you." He was dead serious, and that scared her.

Her heart sank not just at the thought of being alone but of losing him.

"I would rather you live for me..."


	14. Chapter 14

~Author's note: Hi everyone! Sorry about the long delay in posting a chapter. I wanted to note that I have decided that there may be points of reference in my story made to what happened in last Sunday's episode _Still. _I really thought it was an awesome raw episode, and since my story, if you remember, begins a few weeks after the prison fell, I don't think that it would hurt the integrity of my story to maybe refer back to some of the things that happened in that episode. If anyone has a problem with that, I am open to opinions, and I will take them under advisement! So this chapter contains some fluff, some serious discussion, and some fun cute elements, but I think we all know that can't last forever. The next few chapters after this one are going to get serious and maybe even a little dark, who knows. So if you like the cute, fun, fluff enjoy. If you like more serious elements, hang in there, because the next few chapters after this will be for you.

Note to ChildlikeEmpress about your review on the last chapter: I am really glad that you mentioned that Daryl's talk about pre-civilization was a bit deep for Daryl, because that was something I really struggled with before I put it in, but decide on it anyway. I appreciate all takes on the character, but I find Daryl to be really complex. There are certain things that he has said that add to this complexity, particularly in season two that add. When looking for Sophia, he talks about being "Zen" and the mountains of Tibet. At another point he makes a reference to the play _On Golden Pond _and also tells the story of the Cherokee Rose. These don't seem like things his alcoholic parents or Merle would have talked to him about, so either he learned them somewhere on his own, or he is interested things and picks them up where he hears them (I would probably go with the second option). I live in a really rural area, and there are a lot of rednecks around here. If I were to ask them out of Zen, On Golden Pond, and Tibet, which was a facet of an Eastern religion...well, lets just say, they would have a 33.333% chance of getting it right! Anyway, I just wanted to say that I appreciated your comment, and it is nice to bounce different perspective around and see what people think.

So, sorry for the long author's note. I hope you all enjoy and stick around for the next chapters. I think I will probably update pretty quickly following this one incase there is some disappointment. Thanks to everyone for reading!~

* * *

After "breakfast" they stayed in bed longer than any reasonable people should. They mostly laid in silence, and at one point he reached out and idly picked up a strand of her hair, running it through his fingers.

_I really like her hair_, Daryl decided.

"Daryl?' Beth questioned softly as he let her hair slip from his fingers.

"Hmm..." At this juncture, whatever she asked, he would probably tell her.

"Do you think we have an unfortunate destiny?" He knew Beth was a dreamer, but this was a bit too melancholy for his taste.

"An unfortunate destiny?"

"You know...like in all the great stories. The people always seem to have unfortunate destinies. Like Alexander, Achilles, King Arthur, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet...they all found a little bit of happiness, then there was a lot of tragedy. But in the stories, somehow...the tragedy is always so beautiful. In life, not so much." Beth turned on her side, waiting for his reply.

"Well Lil' Bit, happy lives don't always make for good stories, and the same goes for the other way around, great stories don't always make for happy lives." _If I ever met the jackass who wrote this fucked up world into existence, I'd slit his throat._ "And you know what I see in all those stories you mentioned, at least what I know of them? Stupid decisions...and not just little ones, but great big stupid decisions." He might not be as educated as other people, but he knew a bad decision when he saw one.

"But we've made some bad decisions..." Beth added, "like feeling like we were safe at the prison...or even thinking that we could live a normal life again."

"Naw Beth, there's a big difference. We made the best decisions we could in impossible situations. In stories, those people make the worst possible decision among so many right decisions. And all of this is to make you feel like their tragic end is some life affirming correct moral decision to play on your emotions." Daryl had never put much stock in stories.

"Do you believe in destiny?" Beth continued.

_What is this...fantasy hour?_

"I believe in my ability to survive, to make decisions, and to do what I promise," Daryl asserted. "Do you feel unfortunate?" It was his turn to ask a question.

"I should...but feeling sorry for myself doesn't make me feel any better...I want to live..." It sounded like she felt ashamed that she was alive.

He turned over to face her, to make sure that he got his point across.

"You're probably not gonna like what I have to say, but you're gonna listen. There wasn't nothin' either of us could do to save your Dad. When everything went down and you were separated from Maggie, there was nothin' you could do about that neither. Do you think your Dad and Maggie, whether she is alive somewhere or dead would begrudge you 'cause you are alive?" He wasn't gonna give her time to answer. "No...and I guarantee if either of them had been given a choice between them or you livin', they would've picked you."

He felt shitty after he finished and he saw a tear fall down Beth's cheek. He reached out and brushed it away, hoping he was gentle enough.

"I don't mean to cry...I'm sorry I so weak."

"Cryin' don't make you weak...just shows you're not dead inside."

People always seemed to think he was void of all emotion but anger and hate, but Beth knew the truth of it. She'd seen him cry, and she'd shared some of his lowest points since they met...probably one of the only people who ever had. That meant she was in some strange way part of him. This really made him think about who he was and who he was becoming. Since they'd been alone together, he'd changed, at least for her. He couldn't imagine he would be different around everyone else, even if they did somehow miraculously find everyone again, but he could let his guard down around her without being afraid of what she would think.

They were silent for a few moments as he thought about whether or not he wanted to tell her what he believed.

"You know what Beth, every man has to live by his own code. My code, what I believe...whether its stupid or not...the thing is, death is never beautiful. It is sad, and someone always loses. But there is somethin' beautiful and admirable...sacrifice. If a man loves someone or something so much that he is willing to give up everything he is and has...his life...to save that one thing...that's beautiful." In that moment, he thought about T-Dog, and Lori, and even Merle in his own fucked up way in the end, and everyone else out there who had made such decisions when their world went to hell.

"Do you think anyone will even be around to tell our stories?"

"I think we will...I told you before Beth...I don't think this is the way we end." Maybe she just needed that reassurance. Maybe he did to.

"Tell me a secret?" Subject change...she was so young...this must be what a sleepover was like.

"It ain't so bad sleepin' next to someone...and waken up next to someone too." The real secret went something like this-_I like sleeping next to and waking up beside you_. It was just all too fast. He was getting too attached...

"What stopped you...from before?"

The question had multiple answers. Before, he'd never been with a woman who was worth waking up next to. And in his old life, he wouldn't have been able to get within a mile of a girl like Beth, but he really didn't feel like lowering himself in Beth's eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe it was me not trusting people. Maybe it's that I've changed..." It was all true to a certain extent.

It seemed like a good enough answer for Beth.

"And Beth..."

"Yeah..."

"I feel fortunate."

* * *

Daryl was a nightmare in the kitchen while she was trying to cook. He brought her two chickens and a basket full of eggs, but him standing over her while she cooked, "trying" to be useful wasn't helping.

"Do you have anything to make more pie?" He asked like a little child.

"I think...I have some cornbread mix for the crust...check the back cabinet, I think there's some blueberry filling up there," Beth instructed, finding a pan for the pie while the oil for the chicken heated.

She heard Daryl opening a can, and when she turned around to retrieve it from him, he was licking pie filling off his fingers.

"Daryl, give that here!" Beth commanded. He reluctantly handed it over, and she sat it beside the stove. "If you eat it now, there will be no pie."

He didn't look entirely happy that she was scolding him. When did she become the responsible adult?

"And I don't know why we need to cook two chickens for dinner. It's just going to go to waste," She commented as Daryl crossed the kitchen to her side and leaned up against the counter while she prepared the pie crust. At that moment, Beth didn't know his sneaky intent or that he was applying his hunting skills in the kitchen.

"Because we're gonna eat it all," Daryl replied assertively.

"We can't eat all this!" Beth protested. Daryl had always been the one to push more food than she thought she needed.

"We will Beth. You gotta learn to eat what you have when you have it."

Beth suddenly remembered being on the road before the prison...when there was very little to eat if anything over the winter...and sometimes even when there was food, she wouldn't touch it, like when Daryl shot an owl. She'd given into rattlesnake a few weeks ago, but only because she'd heard that people ate it sometimes even if they weren't starving.

"The rule of hunting...hunting to survive that is...is that you never kill more than you need but always try to get as much as you can eat 'cause who knows if it will be there tomorrow," Daryl schooled her.

She'd been hungry in her lifetime, mostly in those hollow months of travel after they lost the farm and before they found the prison, but since then, she had mostly had what she needed. It must have been horrible to live a lifetime of not knowing where your next meal was going to come from, and the realization that the only way you were going to eat was if you hunted and killed your own food. Growing up, she'd known that there where still people out there that were forced to guarantee their existence in that uncertain manner, but she had never met one until Daryl. She felt sorry for him but knew he would never want her sympathy. Even if he thought that she felt sorry, he would probably hate her for it. And his life in the old world had prepared him to survive in their world. Daryl was built for it.

All of Beth's sympathy for Daryl disappeared when she caught him with the pie filling again...after she had specifically forbade him!

"Daryl Dixon! Out!" She said sternly as she confiscated the can from him.

"Why?"

"A man's place isn't in the kitchen. Go find something to do."

"Like what?" He grinned a bit, and she realized he was being annoying on purpose.

"I don't know Daryl...go do some guy thing. There's a shotgun somewhere in the house."

"How do you know?" His interest was peaked.

"I saw some shotgun shells in the nightstand on your side of the bed when I was looking for lotion last night...go find it." Beth offered him his only option.

"Jeez Beth...you don't have to dismiss me. I was just tryin' to help you with dinner." He wasn't convincing anyone.

"Um-hmmm. Helping...right!" Beth said as Daryl stood poised to exit the kitchen.

"Go on...I'll let you know when dinner is ready."

Daryl accepted his banishment with all the grace of a man-sized child, sulking as he went.


	15. Chapter 15

Daryl didn't just find one shotgun, but two he informed her as he sat down at the table and she poured his drink for him.

"What's this? You found wine?" He questioned, examining the burgundy liquid as she poured her own glass. "I don't know how I feel about contributing to your delinquency again."

"My delinquency? Again?" Beth questioned. She wasn't a delinquent.

"Yeah, your delinquency Blondie! Under my watch you already got lit once, for the first time ever, and then you where accessory to burning down two houses. Your turnin' into a little drunken pyro!" Beth could hear the amusement in Daryl's voice.

"It's black cherry Kool-Aid, I think I'll be fine," Beth assured him.

"Good, I don't really care for wine much anyway...but seriously Beth...that night got outta hand. We gotta be more careful than that. Gettin' lit like that ain't gonna help us survive." Serious Daryl made his appearance again.

Beth stopped to consider the serious implications that their actions had. Even before, both their families had, at some point or another, been effected by alcohol. Beth knew that her Daddy had been an alcoholic once, but he had crushed the habit when his children were born. Daryl's dad had allowed his addiction to crush his children instead.

"But I do remember the last time I had wine...and it was a good day," Daryl offered, a smile spreading across in his face in the candle light. "It was our first night at the CDC in Atlanta...and I got Glenn drunk for the first time...totally drunk off his as...butt. He was a hilarious drunk, and had the mother of all hangovers the next morning when he crawled in for breakfast...

* * *

"You're okay with leavin' tomorrow, right..." Daryl stated more than questioned. They needed to find somewhere more secure, and the sooner they saw whether or not his plan was going to work, the sooner they could prepare for the future.

He looked over his shoulder to her, where she was sitting in the middle of the bed, to gauge her reaction as he locked the door.

"Whatever you think is best," she replied casually, finishing again with the cupcake lotion.

It was strange. People were never really this comfortable with him. He hoped it wasn't dangerous for Beth. After he shoved the two handguns under his pillow, he joined her in the middle of the bed and almost waited for the Dawson's Creek theme music to cue up. He fought the urge to laugh at himself. It was all so normal.

"So...when was the last time you stayed in bed the whole day?" It was nice to learn things he didn't know about her...the little pieces that would eventually make up the whole.

Beth glanced sideways at him, and turned over her wrist to answer his question.

_Well, this isn't good..._

Daryl took her wrist in his hand, marveling at how pale and translucent her skin was, her blue veins delicate rivers just under the surface. He brushed his thumb over the prominent vertical scar. He'd regretted what he said that night they got drunk, about her slitting her wrist just to get attention. He hadn't really believed it, he'd just needed someone to hurt like him, and he took it out on her. But the scar closed all arguments anyone might've had about her intentions. She hadn't just done it for attention...she'd been completely serious.

"Damn Beth...you meant business. Most people cut across like in the movies. You cut down to get the job done." This conversation was not going in the direction he expected.

"How do you know...about the 'right' way?" Beth questioned with little emotion.

"You don't get to be my age without knowing a bunch of useless stuff."

"Hmmm..."

"Beth, I need to say something...I should've said it along time ago...but I don't know...I just couldn't find a time that seemed right. I didn't mean to say what I did about...you know, when you cut your wrist...about you just wanting attention." Daryl cleared his throat to flush out the awkwardness he felt.

"Don't worry...I forgave you a long time ago...some things we don't have to apologize for," Beth assured him.

"Thanks Lil' Bit..."

"So what about you? When was the last time you spent an entire day in bed?"

_Yeah...because that's so much of a happier story!_

"At your house...after I shot myself with my crossbow." The memory of what happened with Sophia actually stung more than the bolt through his side. He'd failed that little girl, plain 'n simple.

"Can I see..." She was hesitant in asking, not presumptuous.

He leaned, stretching his left side taut to bare the scar and reluctantly lifted the wife-beater he wore to show her. Beth moved in front of him, looking with her hands and her eyes. He shivered at her touch.

"I can't really see in this light..." She was so close, and she pushed his shirt further up his side with her small hand. "Could you please..."

He knew what she was asking. His survival instinct said "no", but the overwhelming need to share something with her won out. He reached behind his head, pulling off his shirt in one fluid motion.

"Impressive..." Beth's fingers found the circular scar and gently traced around its edges.

Beth was on her knees, and before he knew what was happening, she was moving behind him.

"No!" He snapped instinctively, capturing her upper arm in his hand to stop her, squeezing harder than he should've as he panicked inside. She didn't say anything to him, but her eyes spoke for her. He let her go and felt her cool fingers brushing against the scars left from the lashes his father had given him...the only gift he ever saw fit to give. He clenched his eyes tight, waiting for the fear and pain of the memories to fall away. When he opened his eyes again, Beth was back in front of him, facing him.

"Scars are the roadmap to your soul," Beth whispered.

_These scars just remind me the pain of my past is all too fucking real._

"Yeah...I don't think anyone'll ever want to travel down that road with me," Daryl managed, coming out of his state of anxiety.

"I will if you want me to." She didn't say it out loud, but he knew by the way she looked at him, that was what she was saying.

"Well...at least this one will be something to tell your kids about someday." Beth brushed her fingers against the arrow scar again.

"Hmph...I don't know about that." Daryl scooted back she he could lean against the pillows. "You know how I told you I've been in some pretty dark places?"

Beth nodded, listening intently, her eyes wide and inquisitive in the lantern light.

"That was one of those dark places..." he paused, considering whether or not he wanted to tell the story.

"So, what happened?"

"Well, lets see...I was thrown by a horse, fell down a cliff, somehow in the fall, I managed to shoot myself with my own crossbow which I really didn't know was possible. I tried to climb back up the cliff, fell again, passed out, then hallucinated about my brother who I thought was dead but really wasn't. Even in the hallucination, he managed to remind me of how useless and weak I was." Daryl paused, swallowing hard. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"Then, when I came to, there was a walker gnawing at my shoe, and I beat its skull in what a tree branch. There was another one comin' quick, and since the only bolt I had left was skewered through my side, I had to pull it through then load it dripping with my own blood to shoot the walker." It seemed like the story should end there, but wait, there was lots more...

"Then, I ate a raw squirrel, cut off the walkers' ears, strung em up for a trophy necklace, climbed that hill, and just when I thought I was home free, someone from my own group shot me in the head."

Beth looked down for a minute, taking in what he'd said.

"Yeah...you might want to tone that story down a bit, or at least wait until the kids are older to tell them..." Beth confessed.

Daryl sat up straight again, close to Beth, his confessor, companion, and anchor...

"You see Beth...the darkness, it comes so easily for me...I need humanity...something to hold on to...something to fight for..."

Beth was sitting quietly next to him...facing him...her legs drawn up. Before he could stop himself, Daryl reached out to touch her pale calf. Her leg was so smooth and perfect. He drew his fingers up across her knee, coming to rest his whole hand on her thigh just under the soft fabric of her nightgown. He heard her sharp intake of breath and quickly pulled his hand away. He shouldn't have done that. She was better than him. But he wanted to...


	16. Chapter 16

~Author's note: I really loved the relationship building between Daryl and Beth in the past Sunday's episode "Alone" of The Walking Dead, but I was really depressed by how their storyline in the episode ended. I hope it is resolved before the end of the season, and I hope that it is a happy ending. Thanks to everyone who is reading!~

* * *

Daryl's touch came unexpectedly, in a quiet moment. His hand was warm where it touched her skin and traced the line of her leg. As his hand drew closer to the hem of her nightgown, Beth's breaths shortened, her heart pounding hard, and she tried to establish at what point she would tell him to stop, when she realized she wouldn't...and why should she? The end could be tomorrow, so what was she waiting for? And acting on impulse wasn't likely to drive them apart in their world, but could maybe even bring them closer together. When his hand slipped under the hem of the gown on her thigh, Beth took in a sharp breath, and Daryl immediately retracted his hand. She hadn't wanted him to stop...the new sensations just surprised her.

Beth shifted to her knees, hesitantly crossing Daryl's lap and sitting on his thighs. Placing a hand in the middle of his chest, she gently pushed Daryl to recline against the pillows again. She leaned in close, trailing her hand down his chest and across his firm abs. She had no idea where her initiative was coming from...maybe it was just the need to live life before the chance was gone.

"Beth...we need to stop..." Daryl's breath was a bit ragged and his voice low and gravely.

She rested her hand on his stomach, looking at him and gauging his response. He may have said it, but his "no" definitely did not mean "no". Daryl reached out and touched her cheek softly as she slid her hand lower down his torso. It came to rest on the defined cut of his hip, perhaps in her short exploration of his body what she would consider his most attractive physical attribute. The problem was, she was stuck now...she didn't know what to do. She either needed to have Daryl tell her what do her or take over, the second was the more comfortable of her options. But the moment was lost when Beth accidentally shifted her hand downward, and Daryl snapped.

"Dammit Beth...I said we needed to stop." He pushed her sharply off of him, grabbing his shirt and a gun from beneath the pillow and was out the door before she could react.

Beth sat in the middle of the bed, confused about what just happened...what had she done wrong? And he had started it...he touched her first!

And then Beth panicked when she heard the back door close behind Daryl. For an instant she was sure he was going to leave her...disappear into the woods and never be seen again. Until she saw his crossbow leaning against the wall by the bedroom door.

_He would never leave that behind_...Beth thought bitterly.

There was nothing left to do. He'd made his feelings clear. Beth got up, blowing out all the candles and turning off the lantern, returning to her side of the bed where she would try to find solace in sleep. Bitter tears burned down her cheeks as she tried to deal with the pain. One thing she knew now from experience...rejection burned.

* * *

Daryl pulled a cigarette out of the pack he found hidden while combing the house earlier for the shotguns. As he lit up and sat on the back porch steps, he thought on the list of stupid decisions he'd made in the last few minutes.

He'd left his crossbow behind.

He'd only taken a gun, and there was nowhere to put it except on the step beside him. The waistband of the damn plaid pajama pants sure in the hell wouldn't hold the weight.

He didn't even have a knife.

And he'd really fucked up things with Beth before storming off**.**

The thing was, when she touched him, his initial apprehension was fueled by and suspicion that Beth was offering herself in payment for his protection with the only form of payment she had to offer. He couldn't accept that. He still had pride, and he wasn't soulless! In the same instant, he cursed himself, knowing that Beth had far too much integrity to give herself so lightly. After that thought disappeared, he hesitantly allowed himself to give into what he wanted. He'd even given her a way out if she wanted it...he told her they needed to stop even though that was the last thing he wanted. He told himself it was okay. He shouldn't have touched her first, but he'd stopped and she continued. And they were both adults, yes, some more adult than the other, but still adults, so what was wrong with it...is was just sex?

Daryl took a long drag off the cigarette and inhaled deeply as he gathered his thoughts.

Another mistake...he'd left his shoes inside he realized as the cold from the concrete step seeped through the soles of his feet.

"Just sex" was great...had been his entire life. But in those last moments in bed with Beth, he realized it could never be "just sex". They'd shared too much life and loss and pain in the last almost two years and especially in the last few weeks. And he was becoming very attached to her...maybe more than...

And the deal breaker had been when her hand had come to rest on his exposed hip, and then she'd stopped. She looked at him with confusion and uncertainty, not knowing what move to make next. The man in him wanted to take over, to own her...but as her protector, he recognized the danger he posed and forced himself to retreat. There would've been a point where the darkness in him wouldn't have allowed him to stop. He'd wanted her too much.

He tried to dig his toes into the concrete of the step as he put out the spent cigarette beside him.

What would Hershel think about him now? Hershel was an honorable man. For whatever reason, Hershel had come to respect him pretty quickly when most people would never give him the time of day. Above all, Hershel believed in redemption...something no doubt he died still believing in. In Hershel's eyes, there would probably be no redemption for the liberties he'd taken with Beth...hell...if he was the father in this situation, he would have shot the trespasser between the eyes. But everything was different in this world.

And Daryl was uncertain too...he didn't know how to go about handling someone so innocent. He didn't know just how innocent Beth was...he had his suspicions...but it was clear that she was far less experienced than the women he was used to. Before...he'd had a personal rule about that. It was far more responsibility than he'd been willing to take on, and not that any girl had offered. Those kind of girls didn't go for men like him.

In any world, she was too good for him, so far beyond his reach in the old world he would even have been in her line of sight. This world evened the playing field, but still not enough. If anything did happen...it had to be done the right way, and Daryl had no idea what the "right way" was...and there wasn't nobody around to ask even if he was willing to. This meant if things did proceed, they must proceed with extreme caution. And Beth's best interest must be his first priority. If he let himself become selfish, his judgment might get so clouded that he wouldn't be able to make the decisions or sacrifices that needed to be made for her.

One thing was for sure. He needed to grow up. These past two days, he'd allowed them to live in a complete fantasy world. The house was secure enough for now, but nowhere near safe. He'd allowed himself to drop his guard too much for the sake of rest and recovery. They'd almost died two days ago getting a car, a few days before that Beth was almost gang raped and killed, and a few weeks before that, their home had been attacked and destroyed, their friends and family killed or scattered to the wind. And here he was livin' in a fantasy...sitting at the head of the table letting Beth serve him like he was the patriarch of some mafia family, taking long hot baths with girly smelling soap...playing "sleepover" all night and day, sharing secrets and stories, flirting in the kitchen...not that he hadn't enjoyed or maybe even needed those things...but this wasn't the time or the place...they weren't safe yet. Not by far. And until he found a place where he felt they were totally safe...the fantasy needed to end. He needed to be strong.

Daryl's thoughts turned to a far darker place in the cool night. He thought about Beth's attempted suicide. He hadn't really known her then or what she had been through that drove her to that point, but the attempt pointed to the fact that Beth had a very concrete idea about how she did and didn't plan to die. He thought about how sad she'd been discovering the two who'd opted out in this house, and the idea that they hadn't "gone together". When he'd thought it out, he came to the conclusion that the man had been week, botched his own suicide, but ultimately left his woman behind in a situation where she felt she had no choice and had to kill herself. What a cowardly bastard that asshole was if it had gone down that way.

At least Daryl knew statistically that most people who attempted suicide and failed never tried again, so hopefully that would go for Beth...and she was so much stronger now. And she had him to take care of her too...however was necessary. He didn't believe in suicide. Never had. And the Romeo and Juliet bullshit of going out together when things got too tuff...he didn't buy into that neither. He would go out fightin' till the bloody end...somehow he'd always known that. But Beth...if they were ever pinned down with no hope of escape...he'd do it...he would give her the gift of mercy...and if that moment ever came, he would thank God he possessed the darkness to make it possible...

Beth left no light burning for him to find his way back to her. If he'd been a different man with no nighttime hunting skills, it would've been a lot harder to navigate. At this point, she probably didn't give a flyin' fuck. He stopped briefly in the doorway thinking how much a difference twenty-four hours made. At least the bedroom door was open. He'd half expected Beth to lock him out for the night...but then she wasn't vindictive like that...she didn't have a cruel bone in her body. She'd left the door open, but she was huddled on the far side of the bed practically clinging to the edge, making it pretty clear she didn't want him near. After he'd secured the door and replaced his gun under the pillow, he slid into bed trying not to disturb her. If he reached out, he was close enough that he could touch her but there'd never been so much distance between them. He fell asleep eventually, but it was a cold and hollow night for Daryl.

When Daryl woke up the next morning, he had no thought that it was a new day with a new start; that wasn't the way the real world worked. But at least they were movin' on today, and being on the road would be a much needed distraction. He rubbed his eyes, and once the sand was gone, he saw that Beth wasn't there. Had he actually expected her to be there waiting for him when he woke up? She'd been thoughtful enough to bring him breakfast though. The tray they'd used to share breakfast in bed the morning before sat on Beth's side of the bed. Sitting on top of the tray was a smashed vending machine muffin Beth had scavenged from the car dealership.

_Fuck me_, he thought bitterly as he snatched the muffin, ripping it open.


	17. Chapter 17

~Authors Note: About the last chapter-Daryl and Beth got really close, really quick, and neither of them really expected it or intended for it to happen that way. Beth's really innocent, so she doesn't realize the effect of some of the things she starts out doing, the really innocent stuff. Daryl shouldn't have initiated anything, but he did stop when he realized what he was doing probably wasn't right. Then Beth took the initiative to continue things. She's young, she has lost a lot-her family, friends, home, her youth to a certain extent. Why not do some things she wants to before it's too late? She doesn't know how much time she has left. Daryl's a man-so come on, he's not going to say no right off, until something triggers his better judgment. When he walks away, he is just trying to be decent.

About this chapter-We are going to see part of the aftermath of Daryl's act of decency, kind of a breaking point. I thought it was important to tell the story from both perspectives, so bear with me. Both of them are having to move past the fantasy they built in the past almost two days to wake up to the real world. There are some more authentic Daryl moments, so we see he hasn't turned entirely into a cuddly teddy bear. Hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading!~

* * *

Beth had just finished warming a pot of water over the stove when Daryl made his way into the kitchen. If they were leaving today, she was at least going to clean up while she had the opportunity and warm water. And her face was puffy from crying last night. It could use a good soak with a warm rag. The lack of sleep didn't help either...but what could she do? She had been awake when Daryl came to bed...she was surprised when he came in. She thought he would've chosen to sleep in the other room, but then she was where the weapons where, plain and simple.

"Mornin' Beth," He greeted her, showing very little change in his normal demeanor.

"I brought your clothes in from the line outside. They're cold, but they're dry." Right now she knew she needed him to survive, she didn't want to go it alone, so she would do what was necessary and require nothing from him.

"I'm gonna make some eggs. You want some?" Daryl offered.

Why was he being nice?

"No thank you," she replied as nicely as her wounded pride would allow.

"Did you eat already?"

"No. I'm fine." She just wanted to take her hot water and go.

"You need to eat something." Daryl switched to his insistent voice and put his hand on her shoulder blade as if to drive his point home.

Beth angrily shrugged away from his touch, grabbing her pot of water.

"Daryl...I said no...I'm not hungry. 'No' means 'no', right?" She spat the last words bitterly, exiting before Daryl had a chance to reply.

Beth slammed the bathroom door and locked it. She was thankful she'd put her clean clothes in the bathroom earlier. Her show of assertiveness would have little effect if she had to go right back out to retrieve them after she stormed off. And she wanted to get cleaned up quick...maybe it would stop her from crying again. She was just a ball of emotion today, and not just because of Daryl, but because they were going back out there, into the real world. This stupid fantasy was over...two days made her think real life was possible again...but it wasn't. Where had all her hope gone?

* * *

Daryl ate his eggs straight from the skillet while standing over the stove.

_Damn Lil' Bit, why you gotta be so naive?_

He should've never said "no". He didn't want to. Who was he to tell her what she wanted when they were adults. He'd lost her now, and she was a monster of his own making...

When Daryl threw the empty skillet in the sink, he wondered if Beth was more angry at him or if she was sad and covering it with anger. Anger was okay. Anger could be a motivating factor. But sadness...she'd suffered so much sadness already. Maybe once they got on the road again, she would be too distracted to be sad. He wanted to get a move on soon...how long had she been gone?

Suddenly, something he'd said from the night before popped into his mind.

_ Damn Beth...you meant business...you cut down to get the job done._

For an instant, panic flooded his chest. But no...something like this wouldn't rock her will to live, would it? He needed to go check on her anyway so they could get going. He just made his way to the bathroom door much quicker than normal. He tapped on the door calmly.

"Hey Beth...you almost ready? Daylight's burning!"

He waited. No reply.

He knocked again. This time harder.

"Beth...everything okay in there?"

Again, no answer.

He pounded on the door, hard...

"Beth...answer me God Dammit!" He yelled, panic welling up in his chest in earnest. His heart was beating so fast he felt like it was going to explode.

Nothing.

Daryl set his shoulder to the heavy wooden door twice before it busted, dreading what he would find in the bathroom, not knowing if he could do what might need to be done.

Beth was standing by the bathroom sink, staring at him like he was a madman. And he was mad...fuming!

"Wha...What are you doing?! Are you Crazy?!" Beth screamed at him.

"No...are you Fucking crazy?" He was biting back all of his anger and emotion. Daryl wasn't screaming, but he was definitely yelling at her.

He grabbed Beth by the shoulders and shook her.

"When I come check on you, you don't Fucking ignore me...you answer me God Dammit! Do you hear me? Answer me!"

"Let me go..." Beth yelled, struggling in his grasp.

"Listen up Blondie-there ain't no puppies or rainbows or fields of kittens waitin' out there for us..." Beth continued to struggle, and he let her go, not wanting to hurt her. "And you ain't goin' on a Sunday picnic with your Daddy in a meadow full of flowers neither! This is real life...and you got to wake up!" Daryl regretted his final words as soon as they flew out of his mouth. He'd let his emotions get out of control, and this time he wasn't drunk.

And he'd wounded her deeply. The anger in her face was joined instantly with sadness, and she went completely still.

"Beth...I didn't mean...I'm so sorry..." He softened his voice immediately.

She caught him completely off guard. She drew her hand back to slap him, but instinctively he brought up his arm to block the blow. Again it was the wrong move, and she was even more infuriated with him.

Daryl dropped his arms to his side and spoke to Beth as gently as he could manage in the state of high emotion.

"Sorry Beth...that was just reflex. Go ahead..." He offered himself for the punishment he deserved.

Beth stood very still, not moving towards any option.

"Go on Lil' Bit...I deserve it...and you need to..." he assured her softly, not sure if she would follow through. _Please...I need you to_.

He'd never "let" anyone hit him before...after his old man...but this was different.

Beth pulled her hand back and slapped him full in the face. For such a little thing, she delivered.

* * *

"Hey Beth...you almost ready? Daylight's burning!"

Daryl clearly hadn't grown up with any girls. Apparently he didn't realize bathroom time meant alone time...and Beth wanted just that...to be left alone, so she decided to simply ignore him.

He knocked again, this time more insistently.

"Beth...everything okay in there?"

Why wouldn't it be? She just stuck to her game plan of not answering and continued brushing out her hair.

This time he pounded on the door so hard it rattled in its frame.

"Beth...answer me God Dammit!" he yelled.

What was he so worked up about? So he was annoyed? Good, because she was definitely not opening the door for him now!

Before she could get her hair pulled up, she heard Daryl slamming against the door. As she stood there in horror and confusion, it only took twice for the door to break open and Daryl to come barreling in.

And he was angry!

"Wha...What are you doing?! Are you Crazy?!" Beth screamed at the absurdity of it all, forgetting where they were, not knowing who or what could be lurking outside.

"No...are you Fucking crazy?" Daryl's voice reached a level it had never reached before when addressing her. She could see his jaw clenching and tightening as he bit back even more anger.

He was enraged. He grabbed her by the shoulders, squeezing painfully tight and shook her hard.

"When I come check on you, you don't Fucking ignore me, you answer God Dammit! Do you hear me? Answer me!"

His anger, cussing, and the shaking made her cringe away from him and struggle to escape his grasp.

"Let me go..." She yelled angrily as she feebly tried to get free. But ultimately she knew if Daryl didn't want to let go, there was nothing she could do.

"Listen up Blondie-there ain't no puppies or rainbows or fields of kittens waitin' out there for us..." Daryl finally released her, and she stumbled backward. "And you ain't goin' on a Sunday picnic with your Daddy in a meadow full of flowers neither! This is real life...and you got to wake up!"

She knew all that...he didn't need to say that...especially the part about Daddy. She closed her eyes trying to stop the flood of emotion that was overtaking her, gritting her teeth to hold back the sob that was fighting to escape.

"Beth...I didn't mean...I'm so sorry..." His voice was soft and calm and sad. What he said about being sorry was true, but it didn't matter. The cruel words had already come out an done their damage.

Rage and fear and anger and sorrow all exploded in her at once, and she threw her hand at his face to slap him. She couldn't really say what drove her to that violent move, but her hand never met his face. Daryl threw his arm up swiftly to block the blow, jarring her wrist at the point of contact.

She went still. Beth was angry at Daryl. Angry at herself for resorting to hitting someone. Angry at the world for everything it had thrown at and taken from her. Ashamed at herself for loosing control. She looked at Daryl, waiting to see anger or disappointment or resentment...but he was calm, and all she saw was sadness and maybe even some understanding. He was standing so still, his arms at his side, all of his defenses dropped.

"Sorry Beth...that was just reflex. Go ahead..." He spoke to her softly.

She was confused. She didn't know if it would make a difference or even make her feel better. And what would Daddy say?

"Go on Lil' Bit...I deserve it...and you need to..."

_But_ _Daddy is dead..._

Beth slapped Daryl full in the face, but to his credit, he didn't flinch and his face remained a stoic mask. As she drew her hand back and held it against her chest, she hoped his cheek stung as much as her palm and fingers did. Daryl stepped forward and hesitantly embraced her. She should pull away, but she didn't...why she couldn't say. This didn't make things right. It wasn't even a start. Maybe they were broken...maybe all hope was lost...


	18. Chapter 18

~Author's Note: So this is going to be the last chapter where Beth and Daryl are going to be at each others' throats (at least for a while) before they realize it is accomplishing nothing. They are just currently at that stage where you spend so much time with each other in addition to their current circumstance that anger, fighting, bickering, and misunderstandings are going to occur. Daryl's never been in this kind of situation with a woman before so he is kind of lost, and Beth is still angry from his rejection. Beth is acting immature, and Daryl, he doesn't know how to respond. I have great confidence that they will work it out, but it being all rainbows and butterflies would be unrealistic for the situation. As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!~

* * *

Their "road trip" wasn't smooth sailing after the morning storm of emotions. The route Daryl chose on a rural two lane highway proved unsuccessful about thirty miles in when it was blocked by an ancient fallen tree, and there was no possible way around. Even nature wasn't on their side. Daryl declared that the back track and reroute would cost them a better part of the day as he committed them to rural county roads. Not that it mattered to her. She was just along for the ride. Beth couldn't imagine what good would come when they eventually got where they were going. It wasn't like they were going to live happily ever after.

Daryl tried to engage her in idle conversation, but he was ultimately just talking to himself. She was turned entirely toward the window, too busy watching the world literally pass them by. The fields and forests and fence rows were beautiful, but the dead houses were sad shells mourning the people who once lived in them. They were all so stupid to feel safe at the prison...actually thinking they could make a real life there. And now they were like God's children, cast out of the Garden of Eden, denied his grace and protection. Except in their case, "Adam and Eve" weren't liking each other too much. If the future of the human race depended on them, she wouldn't count on it.

"You know...Glenn had a pretty nice car once...even after I met him after the turn," Daryl offered, and the mention of their lost family momentarily drew her out of her sad reverie.

Although she didn't turn to him or even give any indication that she was listening, he continued anyway.

"So it was back when they first brought Rick back after meeting him in Atlanta. I was out hunting, out in the woods a pretty good distance from our camp when I heard this wailin' car alarm echoing all across the mountain. Wasn't nothing I could do about it, so I just kept on hunting, and it eventually stopped. Next day, I got back to camp and I saw what all the fuss was about..."

She wondered who Daryl was back then. How he was with other people...this must've been right when he lost Merle the first time. And all the others...all the rest of his group that he'd never named...as well as the people she had met who were all gone now.

"And well...I mean...it wasn't a real good time for me... I'd lost the deer I'd shot to a walker on the way back to camp and found out the new sheriff in town handcuffed Merle on a roof and left him for dead...but it was a nice little red Dodge Challenger...and Glenn just thought it was the most wicked car ever..."

Beth tried to think on it...all the people he'd lost since they came to know each other from before the prison.

Sophia, Dale, Shane, Lori, T-Dog, Andrea, and Merle, and more recently Rick, Carl, Judith, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, and Daddy...but those two probably didn't count. They were her people, so he probably didn't care...but she was missing someone else...

"And by the time they were all done partin' it out, poor Glenn, he was devastated," Daryl finished.

And it came to her...who she'd missed...Carol.

It all made sense now. Why he didn't want to be with her. Carol was the person he was closest to. If Carol would've been there beside him when the prison fell, Beth would've had no chance. He would've left her behind for sure. There was no way she could ever live up to the standard Carol had no doubt set before her. Of course he missed her and mourned for her...he'd never even said her name out loud since they ran from the prison. Even when she mentioned not being like Maggie or Michonne or Carol during their emotional breakdown with the moonshine, he didn't even react to her name...he was too hurt apparently. There was no way she could ever be as good as the strong, independent, mature woman Carol was. That meant there was no way she could be good enough for Daryl in the only way that mattered...and perhaps he would eventually leave her. And being alone...Beth would never survive that. When she thought about the horror she had felt at the last house with the woman hanging from the ceiling...Beth began fearing dying alone even more than being left alone.

Daryl always said he kept his promises. Beth was going to request one final promise from him before it was too late. She turned in her seat to face him, resolved to remain strong and keep her emotions in check.

"Daryl, can you stop for a minute?" Her voice was as even and calm as she could hope for.

"Yeah...you okay?" Daryl questioned intently, putting on the brakes and stopping in the middle of the road.

"I just need to ask you something."

Daryl pulled up the parking brake and put the car in neutral, turning to her and waiting attentively. This was the first time she'd spoken to him since they'd left the house.

"I need you to promise me something..." voice still calm and even to her surprise.

"I'll promise as long as its something in my power."

"Promise me that when you find someone better to travel with or if you decide to go it alone, you'll help me find somewhere safe to stay before you leave me..." Beth's voice cracked a little at the end.

"This is ridiculous! I'm not even gonna entertain you with an answer," be was blatantly aggravated at her request.

Daryl's hand went to the parking break as he prepared to take off again, but Beth grasped his forearm in her small hand prompting him to stop.

"Please Daryl...you have to promise...you know I can't make it alone..." Full desperation invaded her voice.

Daryl pried her hand off his arm and then rested what was no doubt supposed to be a reassuring hand on the juncture between her neck and shoulder. After this morning, she had resolved that she wouldn't let him touch her again, but she didn't have the emotional strength to fight it.

"Beth...when are you gonna get it...I'm not gonna leave you...I think...you gotta understand...this is it for me..." The broken nature of his uncertain proclamation was hard to comprehend.

She didn't know what he was trying to say, and she still needed to hear him promise.

"Please Daryl...you have to promise..." her voice was urgent now.

"Hell Beth...yeah, I promise," Daryl replied reluctantly.

* * *

This silent treatment was driving him crazy. He'd never been much of a talker, until recently with Beth, and he didn't mind silence. But the fact that he knew he was getting the silent treatment was what made in unbearable. Luckily, they came upon an antiquated gas station and service garage with a few parked cars outside. As he pulled off the road and skidded to stop, the place looked pretty untouched. Maybe he could siphon some gas. Beth turned to look at him as he opened his door.

"I'm gonna look around, take a piss, and see what I can find. You comin'?" Daryl was outta patience and manners at the moment.

Beth wouldn't even grace him with a reply; she just turned back to her fixed position looking at nothing out the window.

"Fine Beth...suit yourself...but stay in the car," Daryl barked.

He slammed his door shut and saw Beth lean over to the driver's side and lock the doors behind him. And he'd left the keys in the ignition. He hoped he wasn't going to have to play a fucking game with her to get back into the car. At least he knew she couldn't drive away and leave him since she couldn't drive a standard. There were still small miracles in the world. He was kind of glad she decided to stay in the car. He could use a few minutes to clear his head and cool down.

Daryl cleared both the gas station and garage before setting to anything else. The store was really untouched, so it would be worth a look, but fuel was his priority. He was able to find a few empty gas cans and siphon enough from the abandoned cars to fill their tank almost two more times, and they were still doing good on what they started out with. Beth was obliging enough to pop the trunk for him when he knocked on the window. He was able to fit the gas cans in with the other supplies they'd gathered from the house before they left.

Inside, Daryl found a veritable selection of caloric depravity, so he grabbed some shopping bags and tossed in everything he saw. Lots of chocolate bars. Girls liked chocolate, right? Well, so did he, so either way, he felt set. There were also some various over-the-counter meds, antiseptics, and bandages that he couldn't pass up on...not in their world. And then he encountered the most intimidating section in the whole store-the feminine care section. He'd never ventured here before, but Beth wasn't like to come in, and she might appreciate the gesture. He grabbed a variety of what he thought he might need in the future and shoved them in a large shopping bag for her. This was definitely not his area of expertise...

At the door, Daryl dropped his bags before leaving and decided to enjoy a candy bar before they hit the road again. As he bit into the sweet chocolate and caramel goodness, he realized that it was probably the only sweetness he was like to get out of the day. He was still pissed beyond belief by the promise Beth demanded he make to her...she wouldn't even take his word. And she'd totally disregarded everything else he tried to say during the one conversation they'd had on the drive. He shouldn't have even fucking opened his mouth.

To Beth's credit, she unlocked the door for him as soon as he reached it. Maybe she had some time to cool down and reflect while she was alone. He put his bags in the backseat then handed Beth his offering.

"I saw this stuff inside and thought you might like to have it," Daryl said calmly as she took the bag from him and he sat down in the drivers seat.

Beth looked in the bag and then and him...and if looks could kill!

"I can't believe you...you think this is why I'm mad at you...because I'm having my period?" She seemed calm, but her voice carried an edge of anger. She was coming unhinged.

"No...no, that's not what I thought...not at all..." He knew he needed to tread very carefully. "I don't know how you girls...ladies...handle that...delicate time...without..." He was digging himself deeper when he hadn't even realized he'd started digging a hole in the first place. "I just thought you might appreciate this stuff when you did need it." It was the best Daryl could do.

"You're a dick Daryl. That's why I'm mad at you!" Beth spat out.

"Watch your mouth little girl!" Daryl could feel his anger rising. "I was just trying to be considerate, and that wont happen again!"

"Watch my mouth?! You're not my father! You don't get to tell me what to do!"

Well, at least she was paying attention to him now and wasn't staring out the window ignoring him.

"Your right, I'm not you're Daddy. What would Hershel say if he heard you?" He'd said it to get her attention, to make her stop and think.

It worked, and she glared.

"Come on, why don't you slap me again? I might like it this time!" He yelled at her, leaning close to give her the opportunity.

She needed to get her emotions out and move on, and if it took him provoking her, he would do it. And Daryl was mad too...Beth was acting like a spoiled brat. She needed to grow up.

"No? You don't want to...okay, then get the fuck over yourself." He gave her some time to process.

"Fuck you Daryl!" She was still infuriated.

"Yeah...there it is...that's why you're mad at me. You wanted to fuck me, and I said 'no'. You need to get over it." He was harsh, but it was the truth. She needed a little reality.

Reality might sting, but Beth didn't have any snotty reply.

Daryl reached back in a bag, grabbed a candy bar, and tossed it in Beth's lap.

"Here Beth, have some chocolate and be quiet. Chocolate releases endorphins, and endorphins make you happy." He was calming down now, at least on the outside.

Beth eventually ate the candy bar, but probably only because she hadn't eaten all day.

They were at a impasse.


	19. Chapter 19

~Author's note: Enjoy and thanks for reading!~

* * *

They stayed the night in the open. After their fight, Beth didn't say a word to him. In addition, Daryl had no luck at all trying to get them back on route. None of the roads were cooperating with him. After all the times he had to turn around, try a different path, and was shot down again, they'd made absolutely no progress. Daryl should've never gotten a car. A bike maybe would've gotten them somewhere, but even being on foot would have been more productive at this point. By the time dark was coming, Daryl didn't have the energy or the will to try to find somewhere inside for them to stay. They'd made it just fine in the outdoors before, although for Beth, it probably wasn't ideal.

After he'd made a fire and a perimeter, they ate the food they'd brought with them. Being in the car full time didn't really lead to many hunting opportunities. He just needed to find his way back to normal...normal with Beth. It couldn't go on like this anymore.

"Lil' Bit, I don't wanna fight. I'm not gonna yell at you anymore; it's not doing us any good." Daryl hoped he could keep his word on this one.

She just glared at him across the fire. He had no idea that Beth could keep quiet for this long.

"Beth...I'm sorry...for everything I said," he didn't apologize often. Daryl hoped she understood that.

Still nothing but Beth shootin' daggers. How could he have let her get so far under his skin that he snapped at her like he did. Everything she did, good or bad, had such a big effect on him.

"Fine...don't say nothin'..." That would be his last word on the topic.

That night, Beth made her bed on the ground on the opposite side of the fire. For a long time, they watched each other from their respective sides until finally Beth turned her back on him. Well, that was that. He watched over her for most the night, and even when he tried to sleep, Daryl found that it wouldn't come to him easily. This was the first time since Beth's attack that they hadn't slept beside each other or at least in the same bed. She could just as well be miles from him, there was so much distance in between.

A night of no sleep and a silent Beth really didn't make Daryl's mood all sunshiny and bright. And he was usually a morning person. This couldn't continue. It was time for action...and the perfect opportunity came around midday into their drive. He stopped the car sharply and pulled into the gravel parking lot of The Wilderness Lodge. It was really off the beaten track...maybe it would be deserted...and it was small enough that there was really no place for many walkers to hide.

"Stay here Beth," he said leaving the car and taking the keys with him this time, just in case. He locked her in the car for safe keeping.

Daryl cleared the lobby with minimal effort, hopping over the front desk and grabbing a random room key. Everything seemed absolutely deserted. Perfect. He quickly returned to the car to retrieve Beth. Opening the door, he grabbed her wrist pulling her to her feet. He looked at the room number on the key, 210, on the second floor of the log structure made to resemble a rustic hunting lodge. Beth pulled back for a moment, causing him to turn toward her. She looked at him all wide-eyed and confused, but he wasn't gonna give her a chance to question. He pulled her up the steps behind him, holding her steady when she tripped from not paying attention. Daryl let her go when he pulled her into the room as he locked the door, and she turned to take in her environment. He cleared the bedroom and the bathroom, finding nothing to deter them. The room was surprisingly pleasant, far better than he was ever used to.

"Daryl...is something wrong...are we hiding?"

He leaned his crossbow up against the wall by the door and laid his guns and knife on the rustic hewn table.

So now she was talking to him? She was afraid. He could hear it in her voice. And maybe she should be with the choices she was makin' lately.

"No, we're not hiding," Daryl articulated very clearly.

Daryl passed her, stopping at the end of the bed. He casually shrugged off his vest and threw it to rest on the couch at its foot. Daryl turned around to face Beth as he very deliberately unbuttoned his shirt. She was staring at him, wide-eyed, like a frightened deer. He disregarded his shirt, letting it fall carelessly to the floor.

"What are you doing..." Beth's voice quavered.

"Ain't this what you want from me?" Daryl asked as he reached behind his head and pulled off his wife-beater, tossing it to the floor too.

He looked directly at Beth as he unbuckled his belt. The whole point of this was to scare her out of wanting to make a stupid decision with him, wasn't it? He needed to be direct. He could tell by her rapid breathing that there was some fear in her.

"It was wrong to push you away the other night...I didn't do it 'cause I didn't want to. I did it 'cause I didn't want you to make a mistake. But if that's what's drivin' you away...if this is what you wantfrom me, I'm good to go. I'm not gonna lose you over this." Yelling at her didn't work before, maybe good old fashioned honesty would.

"But...it's still light out..." Beth interjected as he stepped closer to her.

"And?" He knew the answer to the question, but the only way this was going to work was if she worked it out for herself. At least that's what he hoped.

"...it's still daytime..."

_God, she's so naive..._

"What are you afraid of Beth? What you're gonna see? Or what I'm gonna see? 'Cause that's kinda all part of this proposition," he explained bluntly as she blushed away. "Your turn..." Daryl stepped even closer, and Beth was frozen.

_Good...it's working._

But then Beth's hands went to the buttons of her long sleeve...and she fumbled with them, her hands quivering.

"Beth...you want me to take your clothes off for you?"

She didn't answer in words, and he needed her to be the one to say "no" this time or this little exercise in adult relationships was a fucking waste of time.

Daryl moved as close to Beth as possible before reaching for her shirt. He unbuttoned it with deft fingers. He wasn't being aggressive, but he was being forward. He bet that as soon as her outer shirt was off, the game would be over. He slid both of his hands over her shoulders, pushing the sleeves down her arms, never losing full contact with her soft skin. She really needed to say "no" or his plan wasn't going to work out too well for him either. But by the time the shirt hit the floor, she still hadn't relented. Beth wasn't as bold as the night she'd come onto him, he could feel her shivering...but what if this was really what she needed. She deserved better than this...but if this was what was gonna happen, he couldn't fuck it up. He had to give her what he could.

Daryl released her arms and allowed himself to slip his hand under her tank top. He spread his fingers, covering the entire space of her stomach. She was so little. She needed to eat more. He ran his hand up her ribs, then reached to pull her shirt over her head. When Beth's shirt hit the floor, he pulled her hair free of its band, letting his fingers venture into her hair. He didn't look down, he didn't need to. His eyes were on hers, until she refused to look at him.

_If you kiss her, you're lost forever..._

Instead of her lips, he let his lips find the soft curve of her neck. But he wanted to be lost...lost in her...

* * *

When Daryl's hands slid firmly down her arms, pushing her shirt off as he went, every inch of her body felt alive. They were alive...this was what they were meant to feel. There was still a knot of fear and apprehension in her stomach, but she pushed it aside to experience life with Daryl. She shivered at his touch and hoped he didn't notice. Beth didn't want him to think she was a scared little girl. It was just new to her. His hands left her arms and one found its way under the hem of her cami, spanning the soft flesh of her stomach, then following the line of her ribcage, drawing the shirt up with it. After she let him to take her cami off, Daryl reached for the elastic band holding her ponytail, pulling it out and setting her hair free. He looked at her, looked her in the eye like he could see into her soul. She couldn't keep his gaze. His fingers were in her hair, pulling her head gently to the side, and that was when she felt his lips at her neck.

A million things were racing through her mind as she felt Daryl's other hand tracing the edge of the well worn pink bra she'd run from the prison in.

She might die tonight or the next day, but would sharing just one time with Daryl for the sake of experience be enough?

She couldn't bear the thought of Daryl giving in just so he didn't push her away, even if he did say he wanted to.

Beth needed more.

Daryl moved closer, their bodies touching. She reached up, gently caressing his cheek. There was no mark where she had hit him during their fight at the house, but she regretted raising a hand to him all the same. He didn't move to touch her, apparently turning himself over to her. Beth touched his hair, brushing it aside as he watched her intently. She wished she had someone to talk to about all this. Maggie...she had experienced so much more of the world than Beth had...but Maggie was gone.

"God Beth...do you even know what you want from me?" Daryl's voice was low and breathy. His hand came to rest on the small of her back, not in a seductive manner, but just in a way to connect them.

"Everything..." She might as well tell the truth. "And I've never..." it came out so awkwardly, and she couldn't finish.

* * *

Well...his plan worked...partly...but it really didn't do anything to quench his desire or the fact that he felt shitty that those desires were there in the first place. He didn't let her go though. He craved their closeness...needed it even...and they were close enough that they barely had to speak to hear each other.

"Beth...I'll give you everything I have...but its not enough...you deserve better..." Why couldn't she understand?

"Who are you to tell me what I want?" Beth's hand came up to rest on his chest as if to make her presence felt, but it wasn't necessary...he could feel her.

Who was he? He had more life experience than her. He knew what the world was really like...even before the turn...and it was ugly. And most of all, he knew who he was. But he didn't need to tell her that...she believe what she believed whether it was good for her or not. Daryl let go of her and lead her to sit on the bed. He knelt on the floor in front of her, resting his hands on her knees, looking intently at her. He needed to have her full attention.

"Beth, I want you to listen to me, okay?" The very serious version of his voice came out of his mouth.

Beth nodded her head indicating he had her attention. Daryl didn't take his eyes off hers.

"If were gonna be together...together like a family, we need to do things the right way." _Together like a family...what just came outta your mouth?_ But it felt right. "That means not pushing things too fast or doing them for the wrong reasons. They have to be for the right reasons."

Beth nodded again.

"That means when your ready, you can come to me, and I promise to take care of you the best I know how," Daryl softened his voice when he made his promise. "I don't wanna let you go...but Beth..."

"Yeah?"

And this was the serious part he really needed to get across for Beth's sake. He had restraint, but he was no saint.

"If you offer again, just know that I'm not gonna say 'no'."

"I understand..." She reached out and ran her hand down the cords of his neck, tracing the line of his muscles to his shoulder.

Daryl reached out and captured her hand in his. Not that he didn't want her to touch him, but at this point he could only tolerate so much "foreplay" without the "play".

"Beth...like I said...I'll give you everything I have...but you shouldn't want me...I'm ruined..." It was like his own personal warning label.

"Daryl...your just broken...and I can fix you." She sounded so sure of her convictions that she almost made him believe that anything was possible.

Maybe there was light at the end of his darkness. _If anyone can, its you..._

"Do you wanna stay for a little while and rest?" Daryl asked from his knees, still holding her hand tight.

"Yeah..."

Daryl reluctantly let go of her and retrieved both their shirts. As he passed Beth's to her, he caught a glimpse out the back window of the bedroom.

_Holy Shit... _

"Beth...grab your shirt...we gotta go NOW!"

The herd that was emerging from the tree line directly behind The Wilderness Lodge was something they could never handle. Daryl grabbed his other shirt and vest, threw Beth's long sleeve to her, and retrieved his weapons.

"Daryl...what's wrong?" Then she looked out the window herself, and she was on her feet instantly.

Daryl grabbed her hand as they ran for the car.


End file.
